Of Training and Captures
by FanWriter02
Summary: Astrid thinks it's time for Hiccup to learn how to sword fight, so decides to teach him. Not much later, Hiccup is captured by some strange Viking tribe, who seem determined to have him train their dragons. Hiccstrid. Rated T to be safe. No swearing. Takes place right before RTTE.
1. Chapter 1

**New story for you HTTYD fans!**

 **Okay, so this takes place after Defenders of Berk, but before Race to the Edge. Somewhere in between. But I imagine them all looking like they do in Dawn of the Dragon Racers (older them of course. So Hiccup looks like Hiccup from RTTE, accept he wears a green shirt. Off topic here, but does anyone else think that the reason he's wearing a red shirt in RTTE, is because Astrid said that thing about "always new red was your color" in DOTDR? :D) Just wanted to clear that up in case anyone was wondering.**

 **Alright… enjoy!**

Hiccup strolled into the Academy, knowing what he'd find there. Just as he'd expected. Snotlout was still fiddling with his new invention: the sheep catapult. Hiccup knew that if Snotlout had allowed him to help him, he could've gotten that thing done in no time. But Snotlout insisted on doing it on his own, so Hiccup let him. But all of his "experiments" were really making a mess in the academy- and he was also going through a lot of sheep. He'd gone through three so far, the others getting retired from Dragon Racing for reasons of them getting to mad at being continually catapulted. And you really don't want to deal with angry sheep.

Snotlout launched the catapult again, the sheep flying high into the sky. Hiccup shook his head, knowing what was going to happen. Snotlout had catapulted the sheep straight up, which meant that the sheep would land directly…

"Ahh!" Snotlout shouted as the sheep began plummeting towards the ground, straight towards Snotlout. He made a quick scramble, but wasn't fast enough. The sheep landed right on top of him.

Hiccup chuckled at the funny sight. He tried to contain it, but found it almost impossible.

"I heard that!" Snotlout shouted towards him, shoving the sheep onto the ground. The sheep stood up, and slowly walked away.

Snotlout stood to his feet, dusting off his cloths. He turned back to his catapult, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully.

Hiccup stepped up beside him while Toothless wandered off towards the stalls in search of something to eat. Hiccup refocused his attention to the contraption before them.

"H-hey Snotlout, I think it might help if you avert it a bit, so it's not aiming directly upwards. Kind of at a sixty to seventy-degree angle."

"Uh… yeah." Snotlout agreed, although it was obvious he didn't have a clue as to what Hiccup was talking about. "Thanks, but I've got this." Snotlout ran over and grabbed the sheep, placing it back into the catapult before making a few adjustments.

Hiccup sighed and turned away, knowing that Snotlout would never listen to him. At just that moment, Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins arrived, all stopping their dragons outside the large gate.

"Morning, gang." Hiccup called out when they entered the arena. "Ready for combat practice?"

Tuffnut slapped his fist against his palm. "Oh yeah. Fighting somebody! What I do best." He looked directly at Ruffnut.

Hiccup held out his arms. "Uh, no that's not what I meant. I meant combat practice… from the air." He pointed up towards the sky for emphasis.

Everybody groaned, "Come on!" Tuffnut shouted, along with Astrid's complaint of, "We've done that so many times!" as well as Ruffnut's, "We're tired of doing that!"

Hiccup tried to act cheerful about it. "Come on, guys." He said, "Practice fighting on dragons… fun, right?"

"Wrong." Astrid answered. "We've done that a lot lately, Hiccup. We've got it memorized."

The twins began chanting in unison, "We want fighting! We want fighting!"

Hiccup groaned, "Guys, come on. Back me up, Fishlegs."

Fishlegs scooted to the side awkwardly. "Sorry, Hiccup… but I'm with them. We have done a lot of flying combat lately."

Hiccup looked around at them, almost wincing at the stern look Astrid wore. "Come on… we'll try something different, like some sort of-

The twins continued chanting. "We want fighting! We want fighting!"

"What do you say, Snotlout?" Astrid shouted. Snotlout jumped in surprise, knocking against the lever, causing the poor sheep to get catapulted back into the air.

"I'm for the opposite of what Hiccup wants to do!" Snotlout replied, just before the sheep landed right on top of him again.

Astrid looked back at Hiccup. "See? Five against one."

Hiccup looked around at the others, who were silently urging him on. He sighed then nodded slightly, "Alright. Land combat for today…"

"YES!" the twins shouted, knocking their head together with a clang. They bounced back, their hands going to clutch onto their helmets as they wobbled about.

"Oh yeah!" Astrid cheered. She grinned almost evilly at Hiccup. "I claim Hiccup as my enemy!" she proposed.

"Great." Hiccup muttered. The last time they'd paired, he'd had a sore shoulder for a week. But this time he was certain he'd die. They'd be fighting with actual weapons this time… and not just their bare hands.

"Hehe." Astrid chuckled.

"I claim Ruffnut!" shouted Tuffnut, "I claim Tuffnut!" shouted Ruffnut, at exactly the same moment. The looked at each other and said in unison, "jinx!" they gasped then laughed. "Jinx again!" they shouted at the same time yet again. "Stop that!" they both gasped. "Gah!" then they leaped at each other, the two rolling about on the floor.

Snotlout walked over, "Guess that leaves me with you, Fishy. Haha. This is going to be so easy."

Fishlegs glared at him, but didn't say anything, much to Hiccup's relief. He didn't want to have to deal with both the twins and a fighting Fishlegs and Snotlout. Not only that, but plus an Astrid with a weapon who was supposed to be fighting him?

This day really couldn't get any worse.

"Grab a weapon!" Astrid ordered. Everybody scrambled to find some sort of weapon to use. Tuffnut grabbed Macey. Ruffnut grabbed a very similar mace, although a bit smaller. Astrid grabbed her axe and a shield. Fishlegs grabbed a knife and a shield, while Snotlout got his axe.

Hiccup walked over towards a very small Terrible Terror stall that was no longer used for dragon's, but for storage instead. He rifled through he barrels and chests in search of some sort of weapon besides his knife. A knife vs. an axe? He wouldn't stand a chance.

He finally found a sword that he'd made not too long ago. It was simple, but very nice and made from Gronkle Iron, so it was light wait. He decided to give it a try, although he had never ever sword fought before. Somehow, he already knew how he was at it.

He walked back towards the others, gripping the sword in one hand while holding his Gronkle iron shield in the other. If need be, he could use his shield for a weapon.

"Nobody hurt anybody. You aim for a way to get rid of their weapon, or to knock them to the ground. Alright?"

The twins nodded eagerly, looking at each other evilly. Hiccup hurried to add. "And by getting rid of their weapon, that means no cutting off any limbs in order to do that."

The twins instantly looked disappointed. Hiccup was glad he made that point clear.

"Alright." Hiccup said, and instantly the twins charged, bashing their maces together madly, not even really looking at what they were doing. They were just pummeling each other.

Fishlegs and Snotlout were battling a bit quieter. Snotlout was constantly rushing forward, but Fishlegs blocked the blows easily with his shield.

Hiccup then focused on Astrid who was rushing towards him, shouting a battle cry of some sort. Hiccup ducked, falling to his knees as she jumped towards him. She flew right over his head and landed on her feet behind him.

Hiccup jumped up and held out his shield, turning to face her. Astrid moved to the side a couple of steps, before rushing forward again, swiping her axe towards his shield. Hiccup easily blocked the blow, hoping that he had knocked the axe from her hands in the process. But he had no such luck. Instead, she knocked her shield up, hitting his left hand that gripped the sword. He yelped, letting it clatter to the ground.

Astrid got off of him, laughing in triumph. "Haha! I win again!" she then held out her hand to help him up. He stood, then picked up the sword of the ground.

"You didn't even use your sword… don't you know how to block a shield?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't have much experience with weapons- well besides actually making them of course."

"That much is obvious." Astrid replied. She reached out and grabbed h is sword, swinging it about in her hands. "Nice sword. You make it?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, a few months ago."

"I like it." She said, handing it back to him. "It's kind of weird that you make swords, yet don't know how to actually use one."

Hiccup was about to answer when he noticed the look in her eyes. She was scheming something. Plotting some devious notion that most likely involved a sword and…

Hiccup held up his hands, almost defensively. "Don't even think about it Astrid. I'm completely happy not knowing how to fight…"

Astrid shook her head. "Hiccup, it could come in very handy someday. You never know when there might be a need for hand to hand combat. You should know how to use a sword."

Hiccup shook his head. "I-I doubt it's very important-"

"It kind of is, Hiccup. Especially if you become chief someday. You need to know this kind of stuff."

Hiccup paused. Well, that was true. But he had Toothless… and besides, he stunk at any kind of fighting with a weapon. He really did. He'd never really experimented with one before. He really didn't want to make a fool of himself… especially in front of Astrid.

"Astrid, I don't know…"

Astrid interrupted him. "We start tomorrow morning. Meet me here at dawn… and not a second later!" she said in a very official voice, before spinning on her heel and walking towards Stormfly.

Hiccup took off after her. He had to try and talk her out of this. "Astrid! That's not necessary. I'm perfectly fine… I'll ask Dad for some tips. I really don't need to and-"

"Hiccup." Astrid whirled back around, making him stop in his tracks. "You're going to learn how to sword fight… alright? It'll come in useful. I guarantee that."

Hiccup was about to protest some more, but decided against it. Maybe if he played along she'd give it up. Once she saw how absolutely terrible he was, maybe she'd get up and say _"Nope. You're hopeless. No chances for you there is no way I can train you to sword fight."_

As embarrassing as that would be, it would also be a great relief.

Hiccup really didn't want to decapitate himself by accident, so as soon as he got out of this, the better.

But there was no fighting Astrid when she had her mind set. He'd definitely give it his all, but that didn't mean he'd be good at it. Not at all. Hiccup just wasn't good at sword fighting. Or, at least, not naturally good. It would take a while before he'd be even kind of good at it.

He was really dreading tomorrow morning.

 **Got this idea a long time ago, but have been to busy to get it typed up. I think this story will be pretty long… but I don't have the entire plot laid out in my head yet… so we'll see.**

 **Oh, and also. Just so everybody knows. I'LL BE GOING ON HIATUS FROM FEBRUARY 17** **TH** **\- FEBRUARY 27** **TH** **. I think you can guess why… :D But just because I'll be on Hiatus, doesn't mean I won't be on FanFiction at all. It just means I won't be posting or updating at all. I can still talk to you guys if you have any questions or reviews. :D**

 **Till the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

***yawns* so tired….**

 **What is it with being a teenager that just makes you sooooo tired? I never used to be like this, and I remember swearing that I'd never turn into one of those people who don't sleep all the time but…**

 **Yeah, so much for that. XD**

 **Okay, enjoy!**

Hiccup and Toothless dove down towards the training academy, where Hiccup could already see Stormfly and Astrid in the middle of the arena, waiting for them.

Toothless landed outside the academy, pausing so Hiccup could climb off before dashing inside. Hiccup paused, then sighed, slowly making his way down into the academy.

"Morning, Hiccup. You look chipper." Astrid said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She smiled brightly at him, and he tried to offer one of his own, but he knew it was crooked and not very convincing.

"Come on, Hiccup. Look excited!"

Hiccup smiled weakly in response.

Astrid laughed, then grabbed his sword from the barrel of weapons by her side. She tossed it to Hiccup, who caught the handle easily.

"See? You've got quick reflexes, and I know you'll be good at this. You just need to practice." Astrid said encouragingly.

Hiccup tossed the sword up and down lightly in his hand. "Yeah, it's just I don't know…"

Astrid pulled out a sword from the barrel. It was similar to Hiccup's, about the same weight and design, just not made from Gronkle iron, so was a bit rougher. "Okay, so a lot of this is in the wrist. A small flick of it-" she demonstrated, her sword twirling about in her hand until she grasped it tightly, causing it to stop, "can be a whole defense mechanism." She finished.

Hiccup blinked, not sure if he'd _ever_ be able to do that. Astrid made it look so simple. "There's no way-"

Astrid rolled her eyes, and came over to stand beside him, "Have some confidence in yourself! That's a major part in it. If you don't believe you can do it… then you won't be able to do it." She dropped her sword to the ground, reaching over to place her hand onto Hiccup's, moving them the way she wanted them on the swords handle.

"There." She said, stepping back. "That's how you hold it with both hands, and this," she moved forward again, rearranging his hands once more. "is how you hold it with one hand."

Hiccup nodded, moving his arm about a bit to get a feel for the weapon. "Okay. Got it."

Astrid placed her hands on her hips. "Now I want you to hold it with both hands."

Hiccup gripped the sword with his other hand, holding his arms out so she could see. Astrid nodded. "Good. Now one hand." Hiccup repositioned his hands, flicking the sword a bit for emphasis. "Good. Looks like you got it. Now for just some simple moves."

Astrid picked up her sword once more, holding it loosely in her hand. "Okay, so you're going to probably fight using one hand more than two, since you usually have your shield." She gestured towards his Gronkle Iron shield strapped to his back. "So, you'll hold that in your right arm, and your sword in your left."

She paused, "It'll be a bit harder for me to teach you because I'm right handed, and you're left handed, but just do everything backwards from me, alright?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Alright. This is how you block blows that come your way. Keep the blade flat, like so." She placed her sword at a diagonal position. "So, that you're attacker can't push his sword against you, but you can push your sword against him."

She moved towards him, demonstrating by pushing her sword against his. "See? Easy." She smiled. "Now do it to me."

Hiccup backed up a pace, then Astrid jumped forward, her sword swinging towards him. He hastily blocked it just as she'd shown him to do, the two swords making a grating noise as they pressed against them.

"That was perfect!" Astrid said happily. "See! Knew you could do it."

Hiccup laughed shakily. "Thanks."

So, the lesson continued from there, and Hiccup didn't do anything to horrible. He did almost get his prosthetic leg chopped out from underneath him, but thankfully- thanks to his quick reflexes- he'd been able to jump of the sword. Astrid had told him to try using his medal leg as a weapon sometimes too, if he didn't have a weapon on hand. Kick people with it, or trip people with it. Hiccup had never thought of that before, so was glad for the tip. She also said he had an advantage with it to. If he was in a sticky situation, that called for a dangerous escape route, always but his metal leg where the danger was.

By the time, Hiccup all but crawled up the steps to his hut, he just barely made it. Why did he have to live on a hill? The hill made everything so much harder… especially for a one-legged Viking who was dead tired and just wanted to collapse in to bed.

He opened the door with a creak, happy to see that his father wasn't home. He really didn't feel like talking to anybody. He just wanted to go to sleep. Nice, comfortable, relaxing rest… it sounded heavenly.

Hiccup dragged his feet up the stairs, Toothless tagging not far behind. The dragon would give Hiccup a nudge when he thought his rider needed assistance, making Hiccup smile and pat the dragon's nose. He was glad he wasn't alone, but didn't have to talk either.

"Ick." Hiccup groaned as he collapsed across his bed. Not a muscle in his body didn't hurt. He wasn't quite sure he'd be able to even move tomorrow, much less wake up at five in the morning to go through another toiling day of combat practice with fearless Astrid Hofferson. He'd just have to suck it up and live through the pain… but it was going to be so hard to get up in the morning.

Hiccup didn't even bother to undress. All he did was take off his armor, tossing them onto the chair in the corner before crawling under his blankets, falling fast asleep.

…

Hiccup blinked his eyes open, Toothless's large green eyes welcoming him. Hiccup groaned, rolling over onto his side. "Please tell me it isn't morning already." He moaned, pulling his pillow over his head.

Toothless warbled, tugging on Hiccup's shirt sleeve with his toothless gums. Hiccup swatted him away, burrowing deeper into his blankets.

Before Hiccup could think twice, he was lying on the floor, Toothless looking down on him from his place on the bed. The dragon gave a snort of dragon laughter, before eyeing Hiccup sternly.

Hiccup glared up at him, "Toothless… come on. Your supposed to be on my side."

Toothless just chuckled again, sliding off the bed towards the chair where Hiccup's armor was resting. He picked up the chair in his mouth before dragging it over to Hiccup- who was still lying on the floor.

"No, Toothless." Hiccup said drowsily, pulling the blanket over his head. "I'm so sore…"

Toothless looked pathetic for only a moment before shoving Hiccup again. Hiccup finally gave up, sitting up stiffly. He brought a hand to his back, rubbing it tenderly.

Hiccup glared at Toothless again before beginning to strap on his armor. Once done, he grabbed the side of the bed, and stood up slowly and stiffly.

"There's no way I can fight like this." Hiccup grumbled. "I'm too stiff."

Hiccup climbed onto Toothless's back, urging the dragon to leap towards the hatch in the roof. Toothless jumped, landing on the ledge of the roof easily, before jumping into the empty air, soaring easily above the village.

Hiccup and Toothless landed inside the Academy, Hiccup being too lazy to land outside and walk down the ramp. Hiccup climbed off rigidly, trying not to let his discomfort show in front of Astrid.

She smiled broadly, "Well, glad to see your up. Thought you might not show up."

Toothless gave Hiccup a satisfied look before walking off towards he sides of the arena, where he laid down to watch the show.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Yeah… almost didn't. Toothless insisted though."

Astrid watched him carefully as he walked towards the barrel of weapons, pulling out his sword. Her voice startled him slightly when she said, "A little sore, huh?"

Hiccup winced as he rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, just a little."

Astrid shook her head, "That'll happen the first few days. You'll get used to it soon enough though."

"I hope so." Hiccup replied, gripping his sword as tightly as his aching muscles would allow. Both his hands hurt terribly, but he chose to ignore, hoping to get these lessons over as soon as possible.

 **Next chapter, or maybe the one after that, is where it starts getting action packed. Sorry this was so short and boring…**

 **Counting down till RTTE! Only 19 days, 7 hours to go! :D Come faster February 17** **th** **!**

 **Sorry I didn't do like… any updating today. I was gone all morning and most the afternoon. I just got home and immediately jumped on the computer to get this out. Sorry to keep you waiting!**

 **Next chapter everybody! See you then!**


	3. Chapter 3

The next two days consisted of nothing other than training, training, and more combat training. Hiccup's stiffness did wear off, and soon he felt like he could actually move again.

Astrid was a very stern and harsh teacher, Hiccup soon learned. Well, he'd known that for a long time, but he'd never actually experienced it before. Now that he had, he hoped he'd never have to again. It wasn't exactly what he'd call pleasant. AT ALL.

"Good!" Astrid shouted, her voice breathless. Hiccup stepped back, smirking in satisfaction at her signs of fatigue. Not that he wasn't tuckered out either, it was just nice to actually see her equally the same. It felt like he was making at least a little bit of headway on her. He was by no means better than her, but definitely equal.

Astrid stood there for a moment, huffing and puffing quickly, beads of sweat standing out on her forehead. Hiccup was doing the same, except for his cloths were soaked in sweat, sticking to his skin, making Hiccup feel absolutely gross. He couldn't wait to be done so he could go for a nice cooling swim in the cove.

"Okay, I-I think y-your good… you've progressed… a lot since… five days ago." Astrid said, gasping in between every other words. Hiccup smiled, happy to hear her say them none the less. Maybe this meant he could be done?

"I-I think your good to go. Don't bother coming back tomorrow." Astrid said, smiling up at him.

Hiccup whooped joyfully, rushing over to Toothless to hug him tightly. "Finally!" he shouted happily.

Astrid glared at him, although it wasn't all there. Her mouth twitched as though hinting a smile, "Come on, it wasn't that bad now was it? Admit it."

Hiccup looked at her, feigning horror. "What!? Over my dead body!"

Astrid picked up her sword again, grinning manically, "That can be arranged, Dragon Boy!"

She rushed at him, forcing Hiccup to swung up his sword again, blocking her onslaught easily. Toothless backed away, not really wanting to get between one of those swords by accident. He sat down on his rear, rapping his tail around his legs while his eyes followed the two "enemies".

Hiccup laughed easily, swiping his sword at Astrid. Astrid caught him by surprise, her sword swiftly hitting his sword handle, knocking it right out his hand. Her foot swung out, tripping him, causing him to fall on his back.

Her sword was aimed at his nose, and Hiccup laughed nervously. "Okay, okay, Astrid. It wasn't that bad."

Astrid stepped back, giving Hiccup a hand, "That's more like it. And don't you forget that I'm still better with a sword."

Hiccup shook his head while dusting himself off. "Never, milady."

Astrid snapped her head over as the nickname slipped out. Hiccup chose to ignore it, smiling softly instead. He wasn't looking at her, so it very well might've looked like he smiled at absolutely no one, but that was the opposite of the truth.

Hiccup finally looked up at her, his face breaking into a grin at her harsh look, "Come on, you call me Dragon Boy, why can't I call you Milady?"

"Because I don't like it." Astrid responded, trying to sound mad. But she was almost sure she failed, because she really wasn't angry at all. On top of that, she was lying. She had come to enjoy the nickname Hiccup had given her, although she'd never admit it.

"Well, why not? You're a lady, and I should address you as one." Hiccup said simply. He bent down to retrieve his sword, straightening up then giving her a sideways glance hesitantly.

"Well… I mean…" Astrid stuttered slightly. She sighed, "Fine, but that means I get to call you Dragon Boy whenever I feel like it."

Hiccup smiled slowly. "Alright… _MIilady_."

"Dragon Boy!" Astrid scolded, once again trying to sound angry. But her smile ruined it, so she might as well had not even tried.

Hiccup laughed, "Ha! You do like it. Admit it." He repeated what she'd said early, smirking like a dork.

Astrid glared at him then turned to climb onto Stormfly's back. "Never. And don't challenge me to a sword fight, remember who's still the best."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, calling out, "See ya, Milady!" when Stormfly took off out the gate into the air.

Toothless nudged Hiccup's arm while Hiccup put his sword back into the barrel. The dragon pulled away almost immediately. He snorted, his nose twitching and his eyes bugged out slightly.

Hiccup smiled, rubbing the dragon's head. "Yeah, I know bud, I stink. But let's go to the cove and I'll get rid of this smell."

Toothless cooed in agreement, snorting again as Hiccup climbed on. Toothless took a few running leaps up to the gate, before leaping into the air, extending his wings as he took flight.

Hiccup leaned wearily against Toothless's neck, glad that the tiring lessons were over. Toothless glided over the trees slowly and gracefully, making Hiccup relax even more. He was almost tempted to go asleep, but knew he couldn't do that.

Toothless took a turn, heading for the ocean to take the short cut. They flew over a hidden spot of the island which couldn't be seen from Berk, where Raven's Point was not too far ahead.

Hiccup sat up, but was startled when large thick ropes suddenly rapped around both him and Toothless. The dragon let out a shriek, trying to flap his wings but being unable to as the ropes tightened. Hiccup forget to breath when he realized that he and Toothless were falling towards the ocean- and fast.

Before Hiccup could register what happened, he hit the cold water with a harsh splash. He struggled against the ropes, trying to free them. But they were taught, going through the water to whatever they were tied to. He tried to reach for his knife, but he couldn't reach it with his arms in the position they were in.

Poor Toothless was struggling harshly against the ropes, trying to find some way to free his wings. Hiccup's vision blurred slightly, and he wasn't really sure what happened next to Toothless. All he knew was that his lungs needed air, and they needed air _now._ He gasped, sucking water into his lungs. He choked, only dragging in more water. His senses dulled, although he could dimly feel him and Toothless being pulled through the water. He drew in another breath, trying to find air somewhere in the cold sea water.

His vision blackened, and he knew no more.

 **HAHAHA! FINALLY! A CLIFFHANGER! I haven't done one of these in so long, guys. It feels good to do one again. XD Doubt if you guys like it though.**

 **Ugh, I feel so horrible for updating a chapter that's under my goal of 1500 words. This thing is only 1200. Sorry about that, will try to make the next one longer.**

 **Did you like the milady interchange? I had fun writing it. More Hiccstrid (like, lots of Hiccstrid) in future chapters! You Hiccstrid lovers will not be let down!**

 **See you in the next chapter guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the last chapter being so… rushed. I know it was, but I honestly had NO IDEAS for filling up the time between the training and the capture. Sorry again.**

 **Race to the Edge is coming guys. SEASON 4 IS ALMOST HERE!**

 **Enjoy Chapter 4!**

Hiccup coughed, choking on the water that was gushing out his mouth. He inhaled sharply, his lungs gasping in relief at finally being able to get some air. Hiccup just lay there, his mind focused solely on breathing, and giving his lungs the air they'd been deprived of.

After several moments, he opened his eyes to see where he was. He was greeted by the sight of a wooden wall, with no windows. Hiccup began pushing himself into a sitting position, pausing when he noticed how heavy his right leg was. He looked down, noticing in disappointment and fear, that he was chained to the wall, a large metal shackle wrapped around his ankle. At least they hadn't taken away his metal leg. Hiccup supposed that was a plus.

But who was _they_? Who had taken him prisoner?

AND TOOTHLESS!? Where was Toothless? Was he okay? So many questions ran through Hiccup's head, it began to ache painfully.

Hiccup looked about, realizing he was contained inside a wooden room, with one wall that had a large metal door blocking the entrance. The door had a little tiny window on it, but that was the only hole in the entire room.

Hiccup then noticed how the floor was rocking ever so slightly. He must be on a ship of some kind.

Hiccup gripped onto the wall as he stood up, one hand reaching up to grip his aching skull as he stumbled on his feet. The floor rocked, almost sending Hiccup sprawling to the floor once more. But he caught himself, holding himself steady.

There were the sounds of footsteps above, and Hiccup paused to listen. The footsteps soon faded, although distant voices were heard. Hiccup tried to make out what they were saying, but the wood between them blocked him from doing so.

Hiccup coughed again, his throat raw and scratchy from the amount of salt water he'd chugged down during his little swim. Well, at least he was clean now, Hiccup thought ryely.

He really wanted a drink of water. He couldn't remember ever being so thirsty then he felt right then. His throat practically begged for it, and just thinking about it made it hurt more. Hiccup leaned against the wall heavily, his legs feeling like straw. Then, his left leg went out on him, and he slumped to the floor again.

He leaned his head back against the wall, thinking he'd just rest for a few moments before trying to free himself from the shackle on his ankle, but before he knew it, his eyes had closed, and he was asleep.

A sharp clang was what brought Hiccup back into awareness. He lifted his head with difficulty, hating how swimmy his vision was and how dizzy he felt. He swallowed thickly, again wishing he had some water.

"Wake up!" A harsh voice shouted. There was a loud creak, jolting Hiccup's conscious back into full wakefulness. He blinked, trying to clear his vision. Finally, it came into focus, and he saw a large beefy man standing in the door way. He held a large ring of keys in one hand, while in the other he held a jagged, deadly looking sword.

Hiccup blinked drowsily at the man, "Whuh?" He slurred, hating how raspy and unclear his voice was.

"Wake up! The Chief wants to talk to you."

The man walked over to the ring where the chain from Hiccup's leg was clasped. He stuck the key into the lock, unlocking it with a click. Hiccup wondered why he didn't just unshackle him, but was too out of it to ask.

"Get up." The man said, giving Hiccup a harsh nudge. Hiccup flinched, then began dragging himself to his feet, glad that his mind seemed to be clearing a bit with the movement.

The man pushed him forward, making Hiccup stumble at the weight of the chains still attached to his ankle. Was he expected to walk with that thing trailing behind him? Not to mention, Hiccup's other leg was half metal, which made walking already that much harder, without adding a heavy chain to it as well.

Hiccup shook his ankle, looking up at the man, "I can't walk with this thing-"

"Chief's orders." The man replied shortly, giving Hiccup another push. Hiccup stumbled out the door, the chain clanking behind him. The man followed, grabbing Hiccup's shoulder and pushing him along.

Hiccup's hands fumbled as he tried to find his knife. But it wasn't in its scabbard like it should be, and Hiccup supposed that these… whoever… had taken his weapons. Well, most of them anyways.

He still had his leg.

Hiccup stopped sharply, jabbing his prosthetic onto the man's boot. The man reeled back with a howl of pain.

Hiccup reached out and grabbed the keys from the man's hands. He leaned down, fumbling through them to try and find the right one.

"No, you don't, you runt!" the soldier growled, snatching the keys away while pushing Hiccup to the ground at the same time. The man hastily stuck the keys on a nail in the wall, turning back to pull Hiccup to his feet.

"Try anything like that again, and you won't live to regret it!" The man hissed. Hiccup glared at him as he was shoved along once more, leaving the keys behind.

That had been his chance, and now it was gone. There was no way he could escape now. If he tried to escape by swimming, he'd drown immediately with that heavy chain on his ankle.

The man stopped before a wooden door. He gave a quick knock before opening it, shoving Hiccup inside.

"Well, hello there, Dragon Trainer." A gravely sounding voice came from behind a large desk. The large man seated there, lifted his head, grinning evilly at Hiccup. Hiccup gulped nervously, not sure what was going to happen. Dragon Trainer. If he called him by that name, it must mean he had something planned for Hiccup which involved training dragons.

And that couldn't be good.

The man gestured towards a chair across from the desk. "Have a seat. Lares, help him, and make sure he can't try and take off on us."

The man- Lares- gripped Hiccup's shoulder tightly, limping slightly as he led him to the chair. He pushed Hiccup into it, then clipping the end of his chain into a metal loop on the floor. Hiccup was trapped again. He had no escape from this room. Or from the chair for that matter. He shook his foot, trying to loosen it somehow. But it was stuck tight, he couldn't budge it.

"Something wrong with you leg, Lares?" the large man asked, his voice anything but caring. It was more of a threat, as though daring Lares to have something wrong with him.

Lares gestured angrily at Hiccup. "That brat jabbed my foot with his prosthetic. I think he broke some of my toes." He added, looking down at his foot almost tenderly.

Hiccup redirected his gaze to the man- who he presumed was the Chief- who was glaring at him harshly.

"Try any of that and I'll take your leg away." He growled, almost animal like. Hiccup stared back angrily, trying to find some snappy comeback.

"Taking the metal leg from the one-legged boy. That's low." Hiccup answered sarcastically. "Seriously, where do you think I'm going to go? We're in the middle of the ocean."

The man continued to glare at him before answering, "I've heard you have a way of escaping, even in the most impossible situations."

Hiccup paused, wondering where the man could've heard that. "And how would you know that?" he asked.

"From a good friend of mine- or should I say used to be a good friend. We're enemies- now that I've taken you I suppose." The man leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over his chest. "Remember Alvin the Treacherous?"

 _Alvin the Treacherous._ So, Alvin had been buddies with this guys? Was this guy as bad as Alvin had been… or even worse?

"Who are you?" Hiccup finally asked.

"I'm called Munga the Worst." The man replied, grinning that evil grin again, sending chills running up and down Hiccup's spine. "And they don't call me that for nothing."

…

Astrid walked into the Forge late afternoon, wondering what Hiccup was working on now. She'd been searching for him all day after their lesson, but she couldn't find him anywhere. So, she presumed he was at the Forge, creating some knew funky creation that only Hiccup could think up.

Astrid first noticed Gobber, who was bending over a sword, pounding it with his heavy hammer. Astrid immediately began sweating from the intense heat that had built up inside the building. She wondered for what felt like the hundredth time how Hiccup had stood working in the Forge every day for hours.

"Hey, Gobber!" Astrid greeted, walking over to the older man. The blacksmith looked up, smiling brightly when he saw her.

"Oh, hi Astrid! If yer lookin' for Hiccup, he isn't here. Haven't seen him all day." Gobber turned back to the sword, resuming his pounding.

Astrid didn't hesitate to take her leave. Gobber was busy, and it was roasting hot inside. So, she returned to the outdoors, sighing in relief at the feeling of the cool fresh air.

Stormfly squawked when she saw her rider return so quickly, having expected the girl to stay for a while to talk to Hiccup. But Astrid just patted Stormfly's nose, her brow creased in worry.

"I wonder where he could be." She mused to herself as she climbed on. She'd searched everywhere, even the cove. But he was nowhere to be found.

"Hey! Have you seen Hiccup?" Ruffnut shouted, racing up to Astrid and Stormfly. Tuffnut wasn't far behind, gasping heavily when they stopped.

Astrid shook her head, eyeing them in confusion and concern. "Why, what is it? Is Hookfang out of control again?" that would be just peachy. An angry dragon and the dragon trainer nowhere to be found. Just great.

Tuffnut shook his head, still breathing heavily. "It's Toothless." He gasped, pointing behind him. Astrid's heart stopped, and her worry grew. "Mulch and Bucket found him while they were out fishing-"

Astrid leaned forward, her voice hinting panic, "Why are you looking for Hiccup? If Toothless was out in the middle of the ocean…"

Ruffnut interrupted, "We know! That's why we're looking for him! Hiccup wasn't with Toothless, and Mulch and Bucket looked around and didn't see him anywhere. It looked like Toothless had been sitting in the water for a long time. Stoick's going to-" but Astrid was already gone, heading in the direction of the docks where Tuffnut had pointed. Her heart was pounding heavily in her ears, and she could hear her heavy breathing. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

Hiccup had been gone almost all day. Toothless is found in the middle of the ocean, without a rider. Astrid couldn't find Hiccup anywhere. What was going on here?

She landed before Stoick, who immediately raced towards her. "Astrid!" Stoick exclaimed, watching her climb down. "Have you seen Hiccup? Toothless was-"

"I know, the twins told me." Astrid replied breathlessly. "Where is he?"

Stoick began walking towards one of the ships stopped by the dock. Astrid walked beside him, leaving Stormfly to stand on the shore.

"He's in here. Gothi's taking a look at him. He's still unconscious…"

"But alive?" Astrid asked, her voice higher pitched then what she would've liked it to be. She turned to look at the Chief, her eyes wide in concern.

"Yes. But he took in a lot of water." Stoick's voice was also concerned, although Astrid knew it was directed more towards Hiccup then Toothless. He knew Toothless was okay, but he had no idea where Hiccup even _was_ , much less if he was okay.

Astrid climbed into the boat, walking over towards the large dragon lying on the floor. She knelt down beside him, patting his head gently before looking at the saddle. It was empty, but then Astrid noticed something.

She reached out and gripped the slightly yellow parchment that was tied to the loops where Hiccup's flight suit strapped on. She hastily unrolled it, standing up to go and show Stoick. She scanned through, shouting his name when she realized what it read.

"STOICK!" she shouted. Stoick immediately jumped into the boat, rushing over to her. Astrid then noticed how the other riders had arrived at the docks, all looking confused or worried. She ignored them, turning to Stoick instead.

"Look at this." She handed the note to him with shaking hands. Now her concern had sky rocketed, and she was beginning to feel sorry that she hadn't kept Hiccup in training longer. Then maybe she could've prevented this. Then Hiccup wouldn't've gone on a flight and gotten captured…

Stoick began reading it out loud, although Astrid wished he wouldn't. She didn't want to hear the horrid words again.

 _Stoick of Berk,_

 _I have your son, and he will be killed if you do not follow these directions precisely. Come with all of Berks gold, and an exchange will be made. Berk's wealth and the whole of Berk, for the return of your son. Hiccup is dead if you do not come to my island in one week. One week, and if you do not arrive, Hiccup will be killed._

 _Go to Outcast island, and head directly North. Our island will be the first one you see._

 _Remember, I have your son, and I will not hesitate to kill him._

 _Munga the Worst._

 **Hmmmmmmmmmmm….?**

 **Can I count this as a Cliffhanger?**

 **Yeah, I think I will, just because I LOVE cliffhangers. :D**

 **At least, I like writing them, not exactly reading them. So, sorry, guys. :D**

 **Thanks for the follows! Please leave a review, I love getting them. They help me to keep going. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello peeps!**

 **RTTE season 4 comes out in 17 days 13 hours! :D CANNOT WAIT!**

 **CHAPTER 5 is here! Enjoy!**

Hiccup glared at Munga, wondering why on earth this man wanted him. To train dragons? Revenge on Alvin? No, that couldn't be it. If Munga wanted revenge on Stoick, then this would make more sense. But this man didn't appear to want him for any apparent reason. Hiccup couldn't figure it out.

Munga was about to say more when there was a large amount of shouting coming from the deck. Munga looked up, a slow smile showing on his face. He looked at Hiccup, the smile growing.

"Why, we're home already." He chuckled, "Guess you'll be getting to work sooner than I thought."

Hiccup was still confused. "Work?" he asked, just because he was curious. The word "work" didn't really describe why he'd been captured, or what he'd be doing.

Munga nodded, "Work. Training my dragons, Hiccup. That is why I captured you." The man continued. Hiccup flinched slightly as the man used his name, wondering how he knew it. Bad Alvin told him?  
Hiccup's mind suddenly switched back to Toothless. His heart began pumping quickly and he hurried to ask, "Where's Toothless? What have you done to him?"

Munga shrugged. "When we pulled you in, the dragon was already dead. We left him there- as a sign to your fellow Berkians."

Hiccup's mind screeched to a complete halt. Wait, Toothless was… _dead_?

Hiccup just sat there, completely frozen as the news sunk in. Toothless was… gone. Toothless couldn't be… no. Toothless couldn't be dead!

"No." Hiccup whispered hoarsely. "No… you couldn't…"

Munga laughed, "Yes. Your beloved Night Fury, is dead, Hiccup."

Hiccup stared at the ground, not able to move. Unable to do anything but focus on the one thing that his mind was solely focused on.

Toothless was gone… forever.

He'd never fly again, Hiccup would never see him again. He'd never talk to him again. He'd never do anything with his best friend ever again.

Toothless was gone. Toothless was gone. Toothless was dead.

"NO!" Hiccup shouted at Munga angrily, pulling at the chain that held him captive. "I will-" Hiccup started, but Munga reached gripped his arm tightly, making him stop speaking all together as he whined in pain. Munga tightened his hold, digging his fingers into Hiccup's arm.

"You, will never raise your voice to me." Munga whispered harshly. "If you do, you'll pay the consequences." He released Hiccup's arm, then stepped back to lean against the heavy desk. He stared at Hiccup long and hard before continuing, "I am not like Alvin- or Dagur. I'm not going to put up with any of your… snippy remarks or insults."

Hiccup glared at him, his arm still stinging and numb from where he'd gripped it. Right now, all he could think was that this man had killed Toothless, and he was going to pay for that dearly.

This man was going to DIE.

How, Hiccup wasn't sure. But he was going to make certain he paid for what he'd done. Toothless…

Hiccup choked on the sob that rose in his throat. He couldn't… no, he wouldn't cry. He wouldn't show weakness in front of Munga. Never. No…

But it was too late. The tears were slipping down his cheeks against his will. He coughed, trying to keep from sobbing. But his chest tightened more, the sadness taking over his being.

Munga stared at him, chuckling yet again. "Maybe you're not as strong as I was told you were." He said harshly. "I heard you were this brave Dragon Trainer. Unbreakable. Well, too bad none of them learned your true weakness." The man leaned forward, his voice low and menacing. "You're to strong in your friendship, Hiccup. Friends…" Munga shook his head, "they're liars. Pretending to be-"

Hiccup kicked out with his prosthetic- and would've used his other foot as well had it not been chained to the floor. He made contact with Munga's thigh, hitting it hard with the spikes of his metal foot. Munga howled in pain, gripping his leg tightly. Hiccup saw a small red stain appear on the man's dirty trousers, and he mentally thanked Astrid for the tip she'd given him. His leg really could be used as a weapon.

Hiccup kicked the man again. No way could Munga just insult Toothless and his friends. No- he wouldn't just sit there and let that happen. Never. Not in a million years would he let that happen.

He didn't prevent Toothless from being killed, but the least he could do was protect his memories of him.

Munga launched forward, grabbing onto Hiccup's left leg tightly. Hiccup struggled against his hold, trying to punch him with his free hands. Munga, with his free hand, grabbed both his wrists and twisted them, making Hiccup squeeze his eyes shut in pain. If he twisted his hands much further…

Munga released his hold on Hiccup's hands, then he began to unstrap Hiccup's prosthetic. Hiccup struggled, trying to keep him from doing so. Without it, he couldn't walk at all.

He might've just ruined whatever chances of escape he had.

Munga picked up his prosthetic, then dropped it on his desk with a thud. He turned back to Hiccup, his glare hateful and menacing. "I warned you." He hissed. "Not to do anything like that again. I'm a man of my word, and I will do what I proposed to."

Hiccup glared back, "And I'm not going to sit here and do _nothing_ while you insult my friends and… and Toothless." He added a bit shakily, but he forced himself to not break down again. He would not cry.

Munga didn't blink, just continued to stare right into Hiccup's eyes. "You will have to get used to that while you're here." He said simply. "You are my prisoner, and I will harm you if you do not listen to my orders. Order number one: keep your snappy trap shut and listen to what I say."

Hiccup shook his head. "No." he replied simply. "I'm never listening to you. Even if you do hurt me." He added when Munga lifted a fist as though to strike him. He was happy with how firm his tone was, but at the moment, that was about all he could be happy about. Everything else was a disaster of unhappiness.

Munga paused for a second, they he brought his fist down, punching Hiccup in the stomach. Hiccup doubled over in his seat, his arms wrapping around his stomach as he squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"Hopefully that'll remind you what I said." Munga said angrily. He paused when more shouts were heard above, then the ship gave a sharp lurch.

"We're home." Munga said simply. He walked to the door, leaving Hiccup alone for a few moments in the room. Hiccup looked up, his arms still wrapped tightly around his stomach. His eyes went to his prosthetic that was still on the desk, and he eyed it angrily. He took a deep, yet shaky, breath before leaning forward and reaching for his prosthetic. His fingers could touch it, but he couldn't actually grip onto it.

"Come on." Hiccup whispered, leaning as far forward as possible. Finally, his hand wrapped around it, and he snatched it off the desk and began strapping it on.

Then he turned and focused on his right leg that was shackled. He tugged on the chain, hoping to loosen it some. But it was stuck tight.

Hiccup tugged at the shackle around his ankle, wondering if he could slip it off if he pulled his boot off. He wiggled his foot around, until it slipped free of the shackle. He almost shouted out in joy and relief, but caught himself just in time before doing so.

He pulled his boot out from the shackle and slipped it back on his foot. Then he stood up hesitantly, wondering what to do now.

Hiccup turned to the desk, going through the drawers in search of a weapons. Finally, he found a knife, and decided it was better than nothing. He shut all the drawers carefully, then slipped the knife in its scabbard at his belt.

He pulled the dagger out, walking slowly towards the door. He opened it just a crack and peaked out.

The hall was empty, although there were some stairs/ladder leading up to the deck of the ship, where Hiccup could hear voices and see shadows as they walked about. It was beginning to grow dark outside, so he figured he'd been on the ship for almost the entire day.

Hiccup opened the door wider, then stepped out, jumping almost sky high when a low voice said behind him, "Going somewhere?"

Hiccup whirled around, holding out the dagger defensively. Lares stepped out of the shadows, armed with his jagged sword. "Come on kid, or you'll get hurt. Chief's permission too. On second hand, why don't you try running, so I can do a bit of damage to you?"

Hiccup took his chance and raced towards the stairs, but only made it up the first few steps before pain burst out in his right leg, causing him to trip and fall against the stairs with a moan of pain.

"Hee hee." Lares chuckled. "So, thought you could get away, did you squirt?"

Hiccup was in too much pain to care what he said. His entire leg felt like it was on fire, to the point where he wasn't even sure where the pain was coming from anymore. All he knew was that his leg was hurt- and pretty badly too.

Lares nudged his left leg, "Get up."

Hiccup began pushing himself to his feet, blinking dazedly at the wooden stairs. He cried out when he moved his leg, the pain racing up his thigh and into his hip. Gosh, it hurt!

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE!?" a voice boomed. Hiccup lifted his head and saw Munga standing at the top of the stairs, staring down at him and Lares. Hiccup gulped, closing his eyes and letting his head fall against his hands. He didn't care anymore. The pain was too much. He just wanted to pass out already…

Hiccup faintly heard Lares say, "He tried to escape, sir. So, I used your suggestion and stopped him."

"BUT I DIDN'T MEAN HURT HIM WHERE HE COULDN'T WALK!" Munga boomed loudly again. His loud voice made Hiccup's head ache all the more, his voice echoing inside his head.

"Sorry, boss, I thought you meant-"

"Shut up!" Munga snapped. Hiccup felt himself being heft up roughly, and being dragged up the remaining stairs. "Go get something to tie his leg in! I don't need him dying!"

So Munga wouldn't kill him. Well, at this point, Hiccup wasn't exactly sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Right then, all Hiccup could think about was his spasming leg and his pounding skull.

He felt something cold hit his leg, and he faintly heard himself scream. His mind was muddled, and couldn't seem to decide on one thing or the other to think about. His heart was racing, each beat pounding in his ears. He wanted to pass out. Just go unconscious already.

Finally, the pain took its toll, and the blackness took over Hiccup's conscious.

…

Astrid pushed more food into her saddle bags, stuffing in as much as possible.

"Astrid, lass, you can't just go on yer own." Gobber's voice sounded behind her. She turned around, glancing at him quickly before resuming her work. "Ye would wait until Stoick leaves with the ships. He'd lock you up if he knew what ye were doing."

Astrid turned to face him again, "You won't tell him, will you Gobber?"

Gobber looked at her, finally letting a sigh escape him. "No. Guess I won't. But still, you kids shouldn't be goin' out there. It's too dangerous-"

"Then we need to get there all the faster. Hiccup's in danger, and he needs help." Astrid replied firmly. She grabbed her saddlebags and made her way to exit the Great Hall.

Gobber hobbled along beside her, continuing to talk. "Astrid, you can't just leave-"

"Yes, I can. And I will. You can meet us at the island as soon as you can. But if Stoick's getting reinforcements from Alvin…" Astrid shook her head. "I want to make sure we're not too late."

Astrid continu8ed on towards the door, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to the worried looking Gobber. "What?" she asked, almost impatiently.

"Be careful, lass." Gobber said softly. "Take care of yerself and make sure the others do too."

Astrid nodded her head, then exited the building, leaving Gobber alone.

 **Okay, so this story is going to be slow in coming. Probably only one update a day, and the reason for that is because I have quite a few requests that I'm trying to do for my HTTYD Requested Short Stories. So, bear with me, I'll try to do the best I can! :D**

 **Sorry about this chapter… I don't I just felt like it wasn't that good. Kind of choppy and un explanatory. I'll try better next chapter.**

 **Thanks everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all the follows guys!**

 **Shout-outs!**

 **Wildatheart843: Ikr! I really wish they'd get more of Hiccup's sarcasm and sass in the RTTE episodes, like they had in Riders of Berk and Defenders of Berk. But, I still like all the leg jokes they have in RTTE. They have a lot more than they have in any of the other seasons… and they crack me up! XD What do you think?**

 **ReptileGirl497: I'm happy to help! :D And I will most assuredly be checking out any new stories you write! Will be keeping an I out in my email for any story updates you do. ;)**

 **training to be a fangirl: Thanks! And YEAH YOU GO ASTRID AND STOICK! *Toothless gives me a death glare* uhh… AND YOU TOO TOTHLESS! :D**

 **SilverMoonClaw: Thanks! LOL yeah give it to them! Thanks, I really like doing Fanfics that are good and clean because lately… not much is. I go on the HTTYD fanfiction latest updates and they're all these modern au's and none of the actual HTTYD time-line and stuff… and a lot of them have inappropriate scenes and just a lot of junk. But I've come to know a couple of writers that are still doing an awesome job! Like ReptileGirl497 or Nightfurylover1112 and Beyondtheclouds777. They're all really good. :D Thanks again and glad you're enjoying this story!**

 **CoverGirl7210: Thanks and will do!**

 **Hiccstridlover13: THANK YOU! Yep, Hiccstrid's the best!**

 **brodmapa: Thanks and sorry for the cliffhangers! :D I just can't help myself… I see an opportunity for a cliffhanger so I just have to… write it… you know? It's who I am. XD And yeah I don't think Hiccup is bad at fighting… just doesn't practice enough to be really good at it.**

 **Greatdivide101: Thank you! *sigh of relief* glad I'm not the only one!**

 **Thanks, everyone and see you in the next chapter!**

* * *

Astrid down the steps of the Great Hall towards Stormfly who was standing at the bottom, waiting patiently for her. It was night, and the torches that dimly lit the village were the only source of light, but it was enough for Astrid to see her dragon and the others and their dragons waiting for her.

Astrid stepped down the last step before draping the heavy saddlebags over Stormfly's back, hastily tying them into place. Before she could mount the dragon though, something bumped her leg with a soft coo.

Astrid looked down at Toothless sadly, reaching down to rub the dragon's head. "I'm sorry, Toothless, but you have to stay here." Tooothless gave Astrid large puppy eyes that literally begged her to take him along.

Astrid bent down and hugged Toothless's neck tightly, "I'm going to bring Hiccup home, Toothless." She whispered. "I promise… everything will be all right."

She pulled away and looked into the Dragon's large green eyes, her heart breaking just slightly at how sad they looked and how they begged her to take him with her. Toothless cooed again, pulling back and looking at her softly.

"You'll go with Stoick, okay? You'll meet us at the island. Hopefully we'll have Hiccup rescued by then." Astrid said, giving Toothless one last pat on the head before climbing onto Stormfly's back. She looked at Toothless one last time before turning towards the others.

"Let's go." She said before Stormfly took to the air, the others close behind. Toothless remained on the ground, all though he did give a few feeble attempts to dash into the air, but with his tailfin remaining closed, he didn't get very far. He moaned at them, but it was faint in Astrid's ears for they were flying too far away to hear him anymore.

"Poor Toothless." Ruffnut said quietly. "I feel bad that we're leaving him behind."

"Yeah, I do too." Tuffnut agreed. He glanced backwards, but Berk was already beginning to disappear out of sight, nothing but a few twinkling lights in the distance.

"Well, the sooner we rescue Hiccup the better then. I, for one, do not want to deal with an angry Toothless." Snotlout spoke up, he and Hookfang flying up alongside Astrid.

"Are we going to stop at Outcast Island, or do we just keep going?" Fishleg's asked.

Astrid stared straight ahead at the horizon, where she couldn't see anything due to the darkness, but she knew Outcast Island was. "No. We keep going- no stopping." She said firmly.

"So, we should get there by… morning?" Snotlout asked, looking up at the star filled sky. "Hope we don't get lost with it being so dark."

Astrid patted Stormfly's neck, "The dragons know where they're going."

"I hope so." Tuffnut piped up,

Belch gave a little growl, his eyes averting towards his rider.

"I-I mean of course they do!" Tuffnut corrected, giving his dragon a shaky smile.

Astrid continued to stare straight ahead, her eyes catching sight of the twinkling lights made by torches. They were getting close to Outcast Island. They should be there in a couple of hours.

"Hold on, Hiccup. We're on our way…" she whispered into the night air.

…

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes, feeling cold and numb. He glanced blearily about the area he was in, not really comprehending anything he was seeing.

Finally, his brain seemed to clear at least enough so that he could think again. He lifted his head off the hard-stone ground he was currently lying on, and he looked about the confining room. He was in another cell of some sort, all though this time the walls, floor, and ceiling were made up of stone. Hard, solid rock. One wall was made of crisscrossed metal bars, a metal wired door resting in the middle of the wall. Hiccup pushed himself into a sitting position, grimacing at the pain it brought.

He sat up, leaning heavily against the wall behind him, panting for air. Wherever he was- it was extremely stuffy and not freshly aired at all. Hiccup took a deep, shaky breath, then exhaled heavily. He looked down at his leg, remembering that he'd been injured earlier.

His leg above his knee was wrapped sloppily with bandages. And- to Hiccup's displeasure- they were blood stained in areas. Was he still bleeding?

Hiccup reached his hands down to feel it, hissing through his teeth in pain when his hand touched the wounded area. He immediately withdrew his hand, settling for leaving the bandage where it was and checking the wound out later… when he was more awake.

Hiccup looked up at the metal barred wall across from him. Outside was a hallway like tunnel, with torches hanging on the walls in places, dimly lighting the area. There was a torch in Hiccup's cell as well, although it was too high for him to reach- even if he'd been standing up. The tunnels and cells reminded Hiccup of Alvin's dungeon some-what. The two were very similar.

Across the hallway from Hiccup's cell was another cell, very similar to Hiccup's. Inside though was a Speed Stinger, with a metal band wrapped around its tail. The dragon caught his eyes and hissed angrily, lifting up his tail threatingly although the barb was out of order.

Hiccup scooted carefully and slowly towards the bars, holding out his hand towards the dragon. He was too far away for them to touch though, so it was really all in vain. Besides, Hiccup was sure he shouldn't train any of Munga's dragons… that would only lead to trouble.

Hiccup sighed and leaned back. His right hand reached down to rub his injured leg, His left going to wrap around his bruised stomach. He took a deep breath again, wishing he was being held captive outside instead of underground.

Hiccup rested his head against the wall, but not much later he heard the sound of footsteps. Hiccup looked out his cell, his look turning to a harsh glare when he noticed who it was coming down the hall.

Munga stopped before the cell, his large hands on his hips, returning Hiccup's glare. Behind him was Lares, who by now Hiccup supposed was Munga's "right hand man".

"About time you woke up." Munga said, "Now get up. You've got work to do and I don't have time to waste."

Lares slipped a key into the lock, twisting it with a click before opening the door. He stepped in and grabbed Hiccup's arm, hauling him to his feet. Hiccup stumbled, putting all his weight onto his prosthetic. Lares pulled him out, and Hiccup was forced to step onto his bad leg. He cried out, tripping and falling against the wall.

Lares pulled Hiccup back to his feet, practically dragging him down the hall after Munga. Hiccup tried to walk, because having his leg dragged against the stony ground hurt _so badly,_ but stepping and putting wait on it hurt just as much. He just wanted to crumple to the ground and stay there.

After a while, they exited the cave into the outside world, and Hiccup took just a moment to heave a deep breath, thankful for the fresh air. Lares jerked him forward again, causing him to stumble forward.

"Wh-where are you taking me?" Hiccup finally asked, hating how gravelly and raspy his voice sounded. At that moment, the mere thought of water made his head spin and his throat grow drier. How he wished… how he _longed_ for fresh, clean, moisturizing water.

"Time for you to do what you do best." Munga started.

"You want to hear me be sarcastic?" Hiccup said… _sarcastically._

Lares jerked his arm, Hiccup's leg grating against the ground and shooting pain up and down the limb. Hiccup groaned, leaning forward heavily.

Munga's voice came again, dark and menacing. "You are going to train my dragons." He paused, "And if you don't, I'll kill the dragon you don't train."

Hiccup's breath hitched in his throat. This man really knew how to push Hiccup's buttons. He knew all of Hiccup's weaknesses. He _knew_ , Hiccup would do anything to keep a dragon from getting hurt.

Hey continued to lead him downhill till they came to stop at a kill ring- one much like the academy back home. Since it was still dark out- although Hiccup could see signs of the sun making an appearance on the horizon- there were torches lit around it. Hiccup could make out the shapes of Viking's standing around the edges, apparently waiting for the "show" to begin.

Lares brought Hiccup to the gate, and once it was open, he shoved the boy inside. Hiccup leaned heavily against the wall, trying to put as little weight on his bad leg as possible.

He looked up when he heard Munga's voice shout, "Release the Changewing!"

A Changewing.

Of course, it would be a Changewing.

Out of all the Dragon's, they chose a Changewing. The one that Hiccup would most likely need the ability to run to train?

But Hiccup wasn't sure if he should train the dragon or not. If he didn't… the dragon would be killed. If he did… Munga would use the dragon and would most likely treat it cruelly for the rest of its life.

Hiccup took a deep breath, not really having a whole lot of time to ponder on what to do, for the door on the opposite end of the ring was already opening.

And before the door was even open a crack, they burst open, a large fiery red Changewing leaping into the open.

* * *

 **GAHHHH THIS IS TOO SHORT!**

 **I apologize everybody, for how short this thing is. It does reach my goal of 1500 words (its actually 1600) but it's still so short!**

 **I'm suffering from writer's block, people. At least, today I am. And on this story.**

 **Tomorrow, or later today if you're lucky, I'll try to write a bit longer one. But, yeah, I wanted to update today because I got a few more followers and I don't want to let you guys down!**

 **Okay, enough of my rambling. See you next chapter! Bye for now!**


	7. Chapter 7

**OH MY GOSH!**

 **Guys, I am so sorry for not updating in two days! I feel so terrible. I initially wasn't going to update tonight, but I felt guilty for leaving you guys hanging so thought I'd quick type up a chapter (albeit a short one… but hey! It's a chapter!)**

 **Enjoy!**

The Changewing leapt forward, scurrying about as it blended in and out with its surroundings. Hiccup, who was still leaning against the wall for support, watched the dragon carefully and wearily. He still had no idea WHAT TO DO.

The Changewing, using its long claws, crawled up the side of the wall, spewing out acid towards the crowd. The men jumped back, quickly scurrying out of line of fire.

Then, the Changewing's eyes went to Hiccup, and the dragon immediately camouflaged itself. Hiccup could hear where it was, and could also see the faint movement of it as well. It was easier to tell where the Changewing was since all it had to blend into was grey stone.

Hiccup finally decided… to just stay where he was and hope for the best. There was no way he could run, and he knew he couldn't train this dragon for Munga to use and control. He was almost coming to the conclusion that it might just be better for the dragon to die… but Hiccup didn't let his mind go there. Just the thought of an innocent dragon dying brought pain to his heart.

"Train it, boy!" Munga's voice boomed from above. Hiccup quickly glanced upwards, before lowering his gaze back to the dragon he knew was marching up to him.

Hiccup didn't move- well, he did flinch but he didn't actually move from where he was standing. He knew what was coming. He knew that the Changewing would kill him. By now, Hiccup had come to accept it. He was protecting Berk and the people living there. He was keeping them from getting destroyed by Munga and the army of dragon's he wanted Hiccup to train. Besides… Toothless was dead. The thought brought an empty feeling to Hiccup's chest, making him feel even more grief. Toothless was gone… there was no on back on Berk for him…

 _His Dad. Astrid. The whole of Berk._

The thoughts flashed quickly through his mind, and his look hardened. Even if Toothless died, he wouldn't want Hiccup to grieve. He wouldn't want Hiccup to just… give up… because of him. Hiccup closed his eyes, inhaling deeply while saying silently in his mind.

 _I'm sorry Toothless._ Then, Hiccup opened his eyes, quickly forming a plan in his head. Train the dragon or no?

Well… if he _could_ even train the dragon. He'd always had a hard time with Changewings. He'd never fully trained one before… which made this situation that much stickier.

Hiccup pushed himself away from the wall, pushing the pain aside for the time being. He had to ignore it. The lightheadedness… the blur his vision temporarily became… the white-hot pain racing up and down his leg…

 _Just ignore it._

Hiccup took in another ragged breath before walking forward, holding out his left hand slowly. He held it out to what looked like blank air- but Hiccup knew better. The Changewing was standing right in front of him, completely camouflaged.

The men gathered around the arena fell silent, save for a few who whispered among themselves. Hiccup ignored them, focusing solely on the dragon before him.

"Hi there." He said quietly. "You a prisoner too, huh?"

He heard a hiss, but no acid yet. He took that as a good sign, so continued.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Hiccup said, pretending to know what the dragon was talking about. He was actually just looking for an excuse to say low, calming words to the dragon. To hopefully tone it down.

"But, if I train you, and we become friends… we can work together and get out of here." Hiccup said in a low tone, so that none of the men could hear him. Hiccup stopped moving, mainly because he wasn't sure if he could walk any further on his bad leg, but also because he was literally standing right in front of the Changewing's nose.

Hiccup turned his head away, focusing his gaze on the stone ground. He extended his hand out slowly, feeling the warm breath of the dragon as it huffed hot air onto his fingers.

Hiccup held his breath, waiting to see if the dragon would merely eat his hand or put his trust in Hiccup. Hiccup was really hoping it chose the second option. He wasn't exactly in the mood for loosing another limb…

Hiccup sighed in relief when he felt the scaly nose press against the palm of his hand. Hiccup turned his head, smiling at the fiery red dragon. The dragon had shed its camouflage, and was now standing before him, his eyes gentle and trusting. He totally relied on Hiccup now. It trusted him… believed in him.

Touching and training this dragon brought the memories of his first encounter with Toothless flooding back. Toothless… he had put his full trust in Hiccup too… and it had never wavered. NEVER.

Hiccup was forced to set those burdening thoughts aside, for men were already advancing towards Hiccup and the Changewing. Munga's voice came loud and strong.

"Lock the dragon up!" his voice boomed. Then, "Bring the boy here!"

Hiccup gulped, turning around to look at the soldiers quickly walking towards him and the Changewing- which in that very dangerous moment Hiccup decided to name Fireclaw.

"Uhh…. Let's just stick together…" Hiccup whispered as he walked closer to Fireclaw's side. The dragon hissed warningly at the men, his mouth opening to shoot acid at anyone who dared to get any closer to him or Hiccup. Even in their dangerous situation, Hiccup had to smile at the dragons protective instincts.

"Tell the dragon to cooperate, boy." One of the soldiers said fiercely.

Hiccup said nothing, but instead reached up and gripped tightly onto the blue spines that ran along Fireclaw's back. He hoisted himself up, crying out as he swung his bad leg over the dragon's neck.

"O-okay, Fireclaw… can you get us out of here?"

"NO!" Munga shrieked. "Stop that boy! I'm not finished with him yet!"

Hiccup fell against Fireclaw's neck when the arrows began to fly from all directions. Fireclaw was spewing acid as fast as he could, and as much as possible but it was a hundred against two. And Fireclaw couldn't even camouflage since Hiccup was on his back. Not that it would really be worth it to camouflage himself with so many men in the arena. There was nowhere to hide.

Hiccup saw the main gate open as Munga stormed inside, absolutely furious. Hiccup immediately made the decision.

He slid of Fireclaw's neck, never minding the rip his shirt gave as it caught on one of the dragno's spikes. He tumbled to the ground, giving the dragon a shove towards the door. "GO!" he shouted. Fireclaw glanced back, confused.

Hiccup waved his hands at the dragon, one hand pointing over towards the open door. The heavy metal gate was beginning to close. Fireclaw didn't have much time!

Hiccup gestured wildly towards the door way again. "GO!"

With one brief, hesitant glance towards Hiccup, the dragon obeyed, rushing towards the door, quickly camouflaging himself in the process. The men glanced about in confusion, not certain where to go or what to do.

Munga was flung aside from his stance in the entry way, and Hiccup sighed in relief as he watched Fireclaw uncamouflaged as he flew off into the dimly lit sky. The dragon was free.

"Get the kid!" one of the soldiers shouted, rushing towards him. Hiccup took a step back, but stopped immediately when he knocked against something large and hard.

He whirled around as quickly as possible, only to have the front of his shirt seized in a death grip by Munga, who was glaring at him in hate, anger, and more hate.

"Do you know how long it took to catch that thing!?" he exploded, shoving Hiccup to the ground. Hiccup groaned as his bad leg touched the cold stone, sending cold tingling pain rushing up and down the limb.

"You will pay for that mistake." Munga growled. "You will pay dearly."

He reached for a dagger at his belt, jerking it from the scabbard and lifting it as though to use it. Hiccup brought his hand up to shield his eyes, more so he didn't have to watch then to block any movement Munga might make.

Pain burst out in Hiccup's side, and his eyes shot open wide as he gasped for air. He wasn't certain what had happened at first, but then he realized that Munga had merely kicked him- hard- in the ribs. He hadn't used the dagger.

"Get up." Munga hissed. Hiccup stumbled to his feet, bending over nearly double due to the splitting pain in his ribs. He was certain Munga had either cracked or broken a couple of them- if his labored breathing was any indication.

Munga gripped Hiccup's arm tightly as he dragged the wounded boy from the arena. "When the sun is up you'll train my dragons- and you will do it without any funny business."

Hiccup didn't bother to answer, to busy focusing on getting a decent breath to listen. His free arm was wrapped tightly around his ribs, wishing the hot pain would leave him alone. His leg was throbbing painfully to an invisible heartbeat, making his head pound.

When they reached the cell Hiccup had been in previously, Munga tossed him inside. Hiccup landed on his hands and knees, not able to support himself so falling to the ground on his side with a moan.

"Three hours, Hiccup." Munga said before leaving. But the words were faint in Hiccup's ears, as his world quickly slipped into blackness as the pain slowly dulled to nothing.

…

Astrid sighed as they passed over Outcast island. She didn't bother to stop, even though Stormfly looked at the island longingly. Astrid knew the poor Nadder was tired, but they had to keep going. They had to reach Hiccup before something horrible happened to him.

"Astrid?" Snotlout asked, he and Hookfang flying up alongside her.

"Yes?"

"So… I mean… I'm just wondering what exactly the plan is? Just march onto the island and demand they give Hiccup over? What's the deal?"

Astrid sighed, not really certain herself. "I-I don't know. I'm thinking that if there's no way to just sneak in and steal Hiccup away, then we'll- or I if you guys don't want to- will give ourselves up… so that we can at least go in and make sure Hiccup's alight."

"Doesn't that seem a little… drastic?" Snotlout asked incredulously.

Yes. It did. And Astrid hastily slapped herself out of her worried daze over Hiccup. That was a stupid idea. Hand themselves over to this guy… Munga… and just give Stoick more people to rescue? No. Definitely not a good idea.

"Yeah, Astrid. That does seem rather reckless." Fishleg's agreed.

Astrid nodded. "I-I know. But… I guess we'll just have to wait until we get there to see how everything is laid out. Then we'll figure out a plan."

The group fell silent, and they flew on for a few moments more. The horizon was beginning to turn a slight pink color as the sun rose slowly, taking it's merry old time to light up the world. Astrid was frustrated, wishing it would rise faster so she could see the island they were heading for.

"Uh, Astrid?" Tuffnut said hesitantly.

"What now?"

"Is that what I think it is?" Tuffnut pointed ahead towards a red blur against the hazy blue sky.

Astrid peered at it, trying to tell what it was. Her eyes opened wide in realization.

"Changewing!" she shouted. She watched it a bit more, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth when she noticed how the dragon seemed to be struggling to stay in the air.

"It looks like it's hurt." Ruffnut said after inspection. "Should we check it out?"

Astrid and Stormfly headed towards the dragon, stopping when the dragon hissed at them angrily.

Fishlegs flew up beside her, pointing a finger at the dragon's wing. "Look, Astrid!"

Wrapped tightly around the dragon's right wing was a metal band- obviously put there to keep it from flying. Astrid's heart tightened in anger to whoever had done this.

"We have to help it." Astrid said quietly. "But it looks really jumpy… and scared."

"Hey, wait a second." Tuffnut said. He pointed at the dragon's back. "Is that… green cloth?"

Astrid peered at the cloth stuck on the dragons spine, giving a gasp of shock. "It's a green… guys that's a strip of Hiccup's shirt!"

 **Okay, I hadn't planned on ending the chapter here, but I have to go and work on some more homework. So, I'll see you tomorrow when I'll post another chapter! Thanks everyone!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Beep! Beep! Coming through with another update! :D**

 **Thanks for the reviews on last chapter guys! They absolutely make my day.** **3**

 **Enjoy… *drumrolls* *ba da ta!* *cymbals* chapter 8!**

"Holy yak, it is!" Snotlout exclaimed in shock. "Why is it on this dragon…?"

"Munga. He must be forcing Hiccup to train dragons…" Fishleg's mused thoughtfully. "But I don't know why this dragon is out here if it was captured."

"And why is there a scrap of cloth on its neck?" Tuffnut asked in puzzlement.

"Hiccup tried to ride it." Astrid said firmly, without any doubt hinting in her voice. "He probably trained it, and climbed on. Something- somehow he was stopped."

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

Astrid had a hand placed on her chin thoughtfully as she studied the piece of cloth. It was difficult to see how large a piece it was or any other smaller details from how far away she and the others were flying. The Changewing was quite upset, and didn't want them getting closer. But thankfully, it was remaining somewhat calm at seeing these human's riding dragons. It reminded it of how the human back on the island had tried to ride him…

Astrid peered closer, her eyes widening as she caught the color red on the green cloth. "Guys…" she said slowly. The others glanced over at her quizzingly. "Is- is that _blood_?"

The others directed their gaze back to the dragon, each giving a little gasp of recognition.

"Oh my Thor…" Fishleg's whispered.

"Why would there be _blood_ on Hiccup's shirt?" Snotlout asked in a bemused tone.

Astrid's heart quickened, now knowing that her worst fear had come true. Hiccup was hurt… to some extent. If he was bleeding…

Astrid looked over at Snotlout and the twins, quickly barking out orders. "Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff, stay here and help the dragon. Fishlegs, you're coming with me."

Snotlout straightened up quickly. "What!? No! You can't leave me here with a Changewing! Hiccup's the only one who can even kind of train them!"

Astrid looked over her shoulder as she and Stormfly began to fly away, "Hiccup probably already trained it! You just have to _tame_ it!"

Snotlout slumped in the saddle with a groan, glancing over at the dumbstruck twins in irritation. "They always get to do the fun stuff." Snotlout grumbled under his breath.

The twins looked over at him silently. Snotlout turned to them, also remaining silent for a few moments.

The Changewing was struggling to remain in the air, so Snotlout knew they had to get that medal band off of its wing somehow. He'd have the twins do that. He'd rather not stick his hand's- which he preferred to keep intact- where they didn't belong.

"Tuff, Ruff, get the band off its wing. I'll tame it."

"WHAT!?" both twins shouted in unison. "WHY US!?"

"Just do it!" Snotlout shouted back. The Changewing hissed in irritation, looking from the twins to Snotlout and back again. It looked like it was contemplating sizzling them into fried Berkians.

"Ugh…" Snotlout groaned. "Where's a Hiccup when you need one!?"

…

The island was quickly growing closer, and Astrid couldn't help but curl her lip in disgust. The place looked terrible. A mix between a swampy mess to nothing but heaps of rocks. How did anything grow on this island?

Around the edges of it was nothing but sloppy mud where Astrid could distinctly make out tall slick sea grass. Towards the middle of the island it got stonier and harder terrain. Right smack in the middle was a large mountain like heap of rock. Actually, this island was pretty big. Maybe even bigger then Outcast island- not that that comforted Astrid any. The bigger the island, the more men there bound to be living on it.

"So… what's the plan?" Fishleg's voiced tentatively. "Back there you didn't really seem to have one, so I was just wondering if maybe…"

"I don't know, Fishlegs." Right now, all she wanted to do was zip in there, grab Hiccup, and high tail it. When Stoick arrived, he could do the dirty work of getting rid of Munga. But Astrid's top concern was Hiccup. The blood she'd seen on the scrap of his shirt hadn't helped rid her fears either.

Astrid pulled Stormfly to a stop, landing on a little plateau on the side of one of the rocky sea stacks surrounding the island. Fishlegs and Meatlug landed beside here, Fishleg's sliding off to stand beside her.

Astrid peaked around the edge of the sea stack so she had a good view of the island without being seen. She slipped her hand into Stormfly's saddlebags, pulling out one of Hiccup's spyglasses.

She placed it over her eye, quickly glancing about the island. There was something that caught her eye almost immediately, and she hurriedly tossed the spy glass to Fishlegs. "Look! Do you see that?"

Fishleg's hesitantly placed the spy glass to his eyes, moving his head slightly in search of what she was pointing towards. He smiled and nodded his head emphatically. "A kill ring! I bet that's where they have Hiccup train the dragons."

Astrid nodded, grabbing the spy glass from him and looking through it again. "That's our best bet. Now there's a large overhang of rocks right next to it… see what I mean? I bet we could creep up from the opposite side of that cliff… it looks mostly unoccupied. And with this haze that clouds around this island, it'll be easy to do it without being seen. We can wait up there until we see Hiccup- if he isn't already there."

Fishleg's nodded, still smiling slightly. "I'm glad to see you have an actual plan."

Astrid shook her head with a lopsided smile. "And you doubted me… when don't I come up with a brilliant plan?"

…

Hiccup's eyes flew open when the loud crank of the door jolted him into full awareness. He was in the same position he'd been in when Munga had tossed him in the cell, and honestly, Hiccup could tell why. He was so sore and his limbs ached so bad he wasn't certain if he could move… especially in his sleep.

"Up!" was the only word Lares said as he gave Hiccup a kick in the legs. Hiccup couldn't contain the cry of pain that escaped him at the jarring of his wounded leg. He dragged himself to his feet, groaning from the pain it caused.

Lares grabbed Hiccup by the arms, twisting them behind his back. Hiccup gasped as his ribs expanded, surprised by how painful breathing had become. He was sure now- he'd definitely broken a rib or two.

Hiccup was rather dazed as Lares led him back down the passage way and into the open air. He gasped heavily, thankful for the fresh air at last, but blinked heavily against the bright sunlight. There was a bit of a haze covering the sky, but it looked more like a mist then actual clouds. All the same, the natural light was much brighter than the dim torch light in the dungeons. Munga stepped forward, looking Hiccup up and down with hate in his eyes.

"This time, you'll do it right." He growled, then with a nod of his head towards the arena sent Lares on his way, Hiccup in tow. Hiccup stumbled heavily, his leg shooting white hot pain coursing through his body.

Up above on the rocky ledge that hung over the entrance from where Hiccup had just exited, Astrid and Fishleg's were waiting. They watched with a careful eye for any signs of Hiccup or dragons.

So far, they'd seen two dragons', loaded with chains or in cages, locked into the training ring. But besides that, no other signs of Hiccup. Astrid bit onto her lower lip, concern gnawing at her stomach. _Where was Hiccup?_

"I see him!" Fishleg's declared in a loud excited whisper, afraid of talking too loud for fear of an echo. Astrid followed the direction he was pointing in, her heart skipping a beat at what she saw.

Hiccup was practically being _dragged_ towards the arena. Astrid noticed the bulky white bandage that wrapped around Hiccup's leg, and how Hiccup wasn't putting any weight on it. He'd hurt his leg somehow… or to be more precise- someone hurt him.

Hiccup was struggling against the beefy man who was holding Hiccup's arms behind his back at a painful angle. Astrid swallowed in anger towards these men. How could they- how _dare_ they be so _cruel!?_

"Plan, Astrid?" Fishleg's whispered behind him. "He- He looks hurt…"

 _You think?_ She felt like saying, but didn't because she knew Fishleg's was just as worried as she was. She swallowed again, watching as the man shoved Hiccup down the ramp and into the stone and chain arena. Hiccup was now out of sight, hidden under the bridge like overhang that ran over the top of the gate.

"Y-yes…" she paused, then sighed. "Not really." She stopped again, watching as a large burly man stood up onto the bridge over the gate, waving a hand into the air.

"RELEASE THE THUNDERDRUM!" the man shouted loudly, and immediately two men standing to one side on the outside of the arena began to crank open a door. Astrid still couldn't see Hiccup, although she could see the door that was slowly cranking open.

"Oh no, a Thunderdrum!" Fishleg's whispered in horror. "Th-That's not good. It looked like Hiccup couldn't even _run_ …"

Hiccup couldn't run. And Astrid had a feeling he wasn't going to train the dragon for that Munga either, so left only one thing that would happen…

No.

"We need to get down there-"

Fishleg's interrupted her, "But look at all those men, Astrid! There must be close to a hundred. A hundred against three Vikings and two dragons? And Hiccup's wounded so…"

Astrid took a deep breath, watching as a large blue Thunderdrum pounced out into the open arena, it's large head swiveling from side to side in search of a victim. The poor dragon had a large medal band wrapped around it's jaw, forcing it shut. Astrid gave a little gasp when she saw the Thunderdrum, not really believing her eyes.

"Thornado!" she gasped. Fishleg's returned his gaze to the dragon, his jaw dropping when he realized the same thing she did.

"Thornado!? What's he doing here?" Fishleg's exclaimed in shock.

Astrid sighed in relief. "Thank goodness… just Thornado! He won't hurt Hiccup. He'll probably help him."

Astrid turned back around, grabbing her battle axe from it's scabbard on her back on the way. "Come on Fishlegs. We're going to go down there, and rescue Hiccup and Thornado."

Fishleg's hopped to his feet, scurrying after her, "How?"

Astrid climbed onto Stormfly's back, turning around to relay her instructions. "You and Meatlug are smaller. You two will go down to the gate, and open it. I'll distract the others." She reached into one of her saddlebags, pulling out a small sword, handing it to Fishleg's. "You might need this."

Fishleg's eyes widened as he took it from her, quickly strapping it to his belt. "uh… not sure if I can do this!" he said nervously.

Astrid's eyes hardened when she heard a loud number of shouts coming from below. They had to go now, or go never. "We have to." She whispered, before Stormfly leapt into the air, diving towards the arena below.

Hiccup turned around, his relief great when he realized that the Thunderdrum was Thornado. The dragon had immediately calmed down, acting quite happy to see Hiccup again after all those years. But Munga was not as thrilled.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" he shouted when all Thornado did was walk over to Hiccup, and bump his large snout against the boy's chest. Hiccup had gasped in pain, but chose to ignore it, instead giving the dragon a hug back.

Thornado growled, turning around and staring harshly at Munga. But with the metal bar around the dragon's snout, he couldn't make any noise at all. He was defenseless, except for his claws of course. But that was all he really had to defend himself and Hiccup with.

"Thanks, Thornado…" Hiccup murmured quietly. "Guess… we should start fighting huh?"

Thornado looked at him, giving a little growl in response. Hiccup pushed himself to stand upright, his leg bumping painfully against his other knee. Hiccup bit his lip, trying to keep from crying out.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, came a loud war like cry from above. Hiccup glanced up in disbelief when he saw the blue Nadder diving quickly towards the arena. Hiccup's jaw dropped when he noticed who was riding it- it could only be one person!

"ASTRID!" he shouted as loud as possible. His throat was raw from the lack of water, so it came out as more of a raspy croak, but it was loud enough to catch her attention. Stormfly came to a halt, hovering right over a large crowd of men grouped around the outside of the arena. Stormfly immediately began flinging her spines at the startled and unprepared men, while Astrid, still gripping tightly to her axe, glanced into the arena for sings of Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" she shouted back, before refocusing her attention onto the men. She jumped off Stormfly's back into the fray, shouting madly. She began swinging her axe expertly, swiping at anyone who got in the way.

"Pst! Hiccup!" came a very loud whisper from the gateway. Hiccup turned around, even more surprised at the sight of Fishlegs standing there, the gate wide open. "Come on!" the large boy said, waving his arm in a gesture to follow him.

Thornado moved towards the door, shoving Hiccup up onto his back when he passed. Hiccup gripped tightly onto the dragon's horn, clenching his teeth against the pain.

Fishleg's crawled back onto Meatlug quickly, and she and Thornado were just about to leap into the air when arrows began hurtling towards them out of all directions. Thornado jerked Hiccup off his back and under his protective wings, the arrows bouncing off the dragon harmlessly. Meatlug had done the same to Fishlegs, although the slightly pudgy dragon was sitting on top of her rider instead of wrapping her short wings around him.

"No, no, no!" Astrid shouted when she noticed what had happened. Stormfly came flying past, and Astrid reached up to grab onto the saddle, pulling herself aboard. Stormfly stopped before the archers, quickly taking them out with her spines.

"Good girl!" Astrid praised. Stormfly landed beside Thornado and Meatlug who were beginning to back away, freeing Hiccup and Fishleg's from their protective stance.

"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed in a mix of shock and panic. He was still lying on the ground where Thornado had shoved him, and he didn't look at all well. The first thing she noticed was the large blood stain on his pants leg, where a dirty and equally bloodstained bandage was wrapped. Hiccup moaned, rolling over onto his back painfully, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Astrid fell to her knees beside him, noticing all the men that were quickly running at them. They'd be under attack at any moment,

"Oh, Hiccup." Astrid whispered. She touched his shoulder gently, surprised by how warm it felt. She hoped he wasn't running a fever too.

"I'm fine…" he wheezed. "Gotta- get out of here." His voice was raspy and sounded raw, and she supposed he hadn't had any water for a long period of time- maybe ever since he'd been captured. That was a whole day ago!

"No, we're staying with you, Hiccup." Astrid stated firmly. "Can you stand up? We have to get you out of here-"

"There's no time, Astrid!" Fishleg's shrieked as a net came flying out of nowhere, trapping Meatlug under it, the dragon writhed wildly, trying to free herself. Stormfly squawked loudly when another net entrapped her, pinning her to the ground.

"I'm fine." Hiccup insisted, pushing himself up. Astrid wasn't even kind of convinced, but she let him. Hiccup saw what had happened to the dragon's, and his look hardened in anger.

"Gotta a sword?" he asked, looking at Astrid. She nodded hesitantly, before grabbing Fishleg's sword and handing it to Hiccup, knowing he'd know how to use it better than Fishleg's anyways. But he was wounded for goodness sake!

"Hiccup, let us fight them off and free the dragon's-"

"Not… enough time." Hiccup said, hanging onto Astrid as she pulled him to his feet. He staggered, but then steadied himself, gripping the sword tightly in both hands. He looked at Astrid, giving a shaky smile before rushing towards the men that were quickly advancing.

Astrid looked at Fishleg's, tossing him a dagger so he could free the dragons. Then, she picked up her axe, quickly dashing after Hiccup with a mighty war cry on her lips.

 ***evil laugh* THE CLIFFHANGER!**

 **See you in the next chapter! I'm not sure when my next update will be… it might be as late as Sunday because I'll be gone for most of the day tomorrow, but we'll see! Thanks everyone and see you in chapter 9!**


	9. Chapter 9

Spitelout stepped into his hut with a sigh of exhaustion. Stoick had just left with a fleet of ships, and although Spitelout had tried to talk him into waiting until morning, Stoick had insisted he go sooner than later. At this hour, Spitelout was too tired to care.

Spitelout turned around, nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw Toothless sitting in his living room, staring at him intently. Spitelout gulped, giving a shaky laugh.

"Er, hi Toothless. What're you doing in here? I thought you went with Stoick…"

Toothless licked his lip, not once taking his gaze away from Spitelout's face. Spitelout gulped, slowly inching his way past the large dragon. Toothless cooed, causing Spitelout to flinch in fear.

Toothless turned around, nudging something forward with his nose. He lifted his head, staring again at Spitelout. Toothless looked down at the strange devise he'd pushed forward, then looked back at Spitelout with a coo.

Spitelout got the idea. "What- is that your tail?"

Toothless cooed loudly, moving his body in response. Spitelout slowly stepped forward, looking at the tailfin in confusion. Toothless nudged it towards him, the devise bumping his boot. Spitelout bent down then picked up the tailfin, staring first at it then at Toothless.

The fin was a yellow color, but the thing that confused Spitelout was that there weren't any straps to connect to a saddle. It finally dawned on him, and he looked up at Toothless in realization.

"Oh, is this an automatic tailfin?"

Toothless nodded, then turned slightly, his tail landing at Spitelout's feet. Toothless nudged his tail, looking up at Spitelout pleadingly.

Spitelout really didn't want to deal with an angry dragon- and he had a feeling that's what Toothless would be if he didn't strap on this tailfin. Spitelout slowly knelt down by the tail, undoing the strap on the tail while doing so. He began strapping it on as best he could, and since it was fairly simple it wasn't very hard. Spitelout fingered the fabric and metal, not blaming Hiccup one bit for using the manual tailfin more often than this one. This one definitely wouldn't hold up well for very long. It was much too weak and flimsy.

Spitelout stepped back, eyeing the tailfin carefully. He hoped he did it right- but even if he didn't, the way he'd put it on looked good. Spitelout stepped back further as Toothless lifted his tail in front of his face, expanding his good tailfin. The prosthetic one copied it, and Toothless's face broke out in a smile.

It was amazing. One second Toothless was sitting right in front of him, and the next minute, Toothless was gone and had disappeared out the door and into the night sky. Spitelout sighed in relief, hurrying to close the door should the dragon be tempted to return.

Toothless was the fastest dragon in existence. He could fly up to 65 miles an hour, so he knew it wouldn't take him long to catch up with the others. But half the night had already passed, and it would be morning before long. He had to catch up soon, or else he might loose them altogether.

He sniffed out the air, barking in excitement when he caught scent of Stormfly. Follow the scent. Stormfly would be with Astrid, and Astrid was going to find Hiccup. Follow the scent!

Toothless pounded his wings all the harder, unfolding his tailfin's so he could fly all the faster. He could tell the tail was flimsy, and not sturdy enough to withstand to heavy of flying, but that didn't deter him at all. He wasn't going to slow down anytime soon. He wasn't going to let up until he found Hiccup and made sure his friend was okay.

…

Hiccup had always hated fighting. Wars, battles, combat, anything related to that he absolutely hated. He hated seeing people hurt- even if they were his enemies. It still made him feel bad.

But now, he was swinging his sword right and left furiously, taking out any man who got close enough. Even when a sword necked Hiccup's arm, he ignored it, his body seeming numb. Hiccup knew it was the adrenaline pulsing through him that numbed his pain, and he was thankful for that. If the adrenaline wore off- like right then- Hiccup would've collapsed. And he knew that, so continued going on un relentlessly.

"Did you get them Fishlegs!?" Hiccup heard Astrid shout somewhere behind him. He swiped the sword out of his opponent's hands, glancing back to see if Fishleg's had or not.

"Working on it!" Fishleg's replied, using a sword he'd stolen from a man to fight another very large soldier. All the dragons were still trapped under the heavy nets, although they were struggling as hard as they could against it. Hiccup had to return his attention back to the battle at hand as two soldiers rushed towards him, weapons extended before them.

Hiccup hastily blocked the blows with his sword, pushing and twisting and side stepping as fast as possible.

"HURRY!" Astrid shouted, she too returning to her fighting. Her axe never stopped, never slowed. IT was constantly moving. Either hitting people on the head with the flat end to knock them out, or slicing at their sword arms, easily taking them out. She looked furious- the angriest Hiccup had ever seen her. But he couldn't really blame her, he was mad too.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted, her tone holding a warning. Hiccup looked to his side, his heart constricting in fear as he watched Munga making his way towards him. The soldiers fighting Hiccup immediately backed off, going over towards Astrid instead.

"Take her!" Munga shouted, pointing his long sword at Astrid. Hiccup whipped his head around to watch in horror as men surrounded her, one easily coming up behind her and grabbing her arms. Astrid struggled and writhed in his grip, trying to free herself somehow. Another man took her axe, then her arms were twisted behind her back, restraining all movement.

Hiccup turned back to Munga, his eyes narrowing in anger. "Let her go!" he ordered fiercely, gripping onto his sword so tight his knuckles turned white.

Munga laughed hoarsely, waving his sword about playfully. "I don't think so. Oh, and the same for your fat friend over there."

Hiccup glanced over, his heart plummeting when he saw three men holding tightly on Fishleg's. The dragons were still under the nets, and now men were gather around them, pointing spears at them. Thornado had been backed up against the wall, men poking at them with the butts of their spears. Hiccup gulped, realizing that he was the only one still free and able to do anything. He turned back to Munga, his hands aching to toss the sword right into the man's heart.

Munga chuckled, "So, Hiccup. Is this how it ends for the "great dragon trainer"?"

Hiccup glared harshly, and took an involuntary step backwards as Munga advanced towards him. Hiccup stumbled slightly, remembering that he still had a severely wounded leg. That thought seemed to make the adrenaline slip away, and the pain pulsed through him again. Hiccup closed his eyes for several seconds, focusing on breathing.

"As much as I'd love to, I can't kill you. And even if I can't get you to train my dragon's, I have another purpose for you."

Hiccup's eyes opened again, leaning against the stone wall of the arena in confusion and pain. What did he mean?

"Wh- a-another purpose?" Hiccup stuttered, totally mystified.

Munga smiled evilly, "Berk's heir? That's quite a catch." He paused, feigning thoughtfulness, "I'd bet Chief Stoick would do anything to get his son back." Munga's eyes returned to Hiccup's, his mouth twitching in even more of a smile.

Hiccup's eyes widened in realization. Munga was holding him for ransom. Oh no! And of course, his dad would do it. His dad _would_ do _anything_ to get him back.

"I won't let that happen." Hiccup whispered hoarsely. Somehow, he would get away. He had to before his dad got there- then a trade would be made, and Hiccup had a feeling it was a bad one. Perhaps even the whole of Berk…

"You don't have a choice." Munga whispered. He looked back over at the struggling Astrid and Fishleg's, then waved a hand towards his men. "Get rid of them."

"NO!" Hiccup shouted, rushing forward and tackling Munga to the ground. Hiccup fumbled with his sword hoping to somehow harm the big man. Munga easily shoved Hiccup off of him, picking up his sword and pointing it at Hiccup's throat.

"Not another move, or your friends are dead." Munga threatened. Hiccup looked over at Astrid, hating how close the soldier's sword was too her body. With one quick thrust, she could be dead. He couldn't see Fishleg's from where he was lying, but he had a feeling he wasn't much different.

Stormfly squawked madly, flapping her wings in an effort to break free. The soldiers poked her some more, forcing her to still. But that didn't mean she quieted. She continued to shriek and scream wildly, making many of the men cover their ears.

"Shut that thing up!" Munga shouted, looking towards his men. The soldiers were all distracted, their main focus on Stormfly. Hiccup took that moment to roll back, kicking Munga right in the stomach with his prosthetic. Munga howled in pain, stumbling backwards as he gripped his stomach tightly. Hiccup crawled to his feet, grabbed his sword, then rushed over towards Astrid.

"Hiccup no!" Astrid shrieked, struggling against the men who held her. Hiccup paused, then stopped all together when pain burst out in his shoulder. He gasped, his vision fading into a blurry white landscape. His hearing dulled as well, everything sounding as though they were under water. He fell to his knees, feeling weak and lightheaded. His hand went compulsorily up to his throbbing shoulder, gripping it tightly. Hiccup gasped in pain, falling onto the ground altogether as his vision quickly fell into blackness.

"NO! HICCUP!" Astrid shouted, fighting angrily at the men who held her. The crossbow arrow was still stuck in Hiccup's shoulder, and she worried that if he rolled over onto his back he'd thrust it into his body even more. She had to get to him!

"FOOL!" Munga exploded, stalking over to Hiccup's body. "Hurt the girl! Not him! I need him alive! How many times do I have to say that!?"

Astrid's breathing was ragged as she watched Munga grab the arrow, pulling it out with a jerk. Hiccup cried out even in his unconscious state, and the sound only tore at Astrid's heart more. She couldn't stand to see Hiccup hurt… in pain…

It seemed they were doomed. They were all caught, and all chances of escape were blocked. There only hope now lied on the twins and Snotlout. Astrid desperately hoped they'd arrive soon, before things grew worse.

…

"You know, this really isn't that hard. Hiccup make's himself look so good when he does this, when in reality it isn't that hard at all." Snotlout said, rubbing the Changewings muzzle. The dragon crooned happily, rubbing his head against Snotlout's chest, almost knocking him off of Hookfang's back.

"No, I think it's because it can smell us, and he probably catches some of Hiccup's scent. You know- since we hang out so much I'm sure it's there." Tuffnut said informatively, actually saying something sensible for once.

Ruffnut crinkled her nose in disgust. "That's actually rather gross. To think that we smell like each other-"

"And it's probably because Hiccup already trained it." Tuffnut went on, ignoring his sister all together.

Snotlout glared at him, "No. I'm sure it's because I was just born awesome and a natural dragon trainer."

Ruffnut snorted doubtfully.

"HOLY YAK IS THAT TOOTHLESS!?" Tuffnut exploded, pointing wildly up in the sky. "Look!"

Snotlout glanced up, his face mirroring Tuffnut's surprised one. "Well, it's definitely a Night Fury!"

"Let's see!" Ruffnut shouted, she and Tuffnut quickly flying up towards the dragon. Snotlout took after them, the Changewing close behind.

"No, it's Toothless. See? He's wearing his tailfin… but nobody's riding him! How is that possible?"

"He's wearing his automatic fin." Snotlout filled in, flying up beside Toothless. The dragon continued to fly, all though he did slow down so the others could keep up.

"Say, where ya goin, T?" Tuffnut asked curiously.

Toothless cooed worriedly, his eyes fixed on the island that was steadily growing closer.

Snotlout facepalmed. "Oops, I forgot Astrid wanted us to meet them at the island-"

Toothless growled again, interrupting the rest of the sentence. Snotlout glanced down at the island, surprised that they had just flown right over it and nothing- as in _nothing_ \- had happened. No nets not arrows no catapults. Nothing.

"Look! The academy!" Tuffnut exclaimed, pointing down at an arena below them. "Woah, that's a lot of guys!"

Before anyone could say anything, Toothless zipped past them, nothing but a streak of black against the grey sky. An earsplitting shriek filled the air, and the others covered their ears.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Ruffnut shouted.

They flew down lower, noticing how Toothless was already bombing the place with small plasma blasts- trying to conserve his shot limit. Snotlout glanced around, realization hitting him when he noticed Stormfly and Meatlug captured under some nets. He could also faintly see shapes that looked like Astrid and Fishleg's, both fighting madly at the mob of soldiers.

"Guys! We have to attack! They have Astrid and Fishlegs!" Snotlout shouted back to the twins.

"Yes! Explosion! Fighting! Just what we like!" Tuffnut shouted excitedly. With a whoop, Barch dove towards the crowd below, eagerly shooting balls of fire at the scattering men.

"Fire, Hookfang!" Snotlout shouted, and for once, Hookfang listened. They began bombing the place in fire balls, the throngs of men scattering in panic. The Changewing hurried to help, spewing acid at any enemy soldiers he saw.

"We're winning!" Snotlout shouted, raising a fist in the air. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi oi oi!"

"Perfect timing, Snotlout!" Fishleg's shouted up at him. Snotlout landed Hookfang near him, hurrying to climb off and free the trapped dragons. The men were scattering, many of them running for their lives with a dragon hot on their tails. It was actually rather humerous watching the big men run away, screaming in terror as dragon's shot fire at them, many times lighting their rear ends on fire.

"Did you guys get Hiccup?" Snotlout asked, glancing about for any signs of Astrid or Hiccup. "Where's Astrid?"

 **Going to stop there because life is interfering with my writing. :( But I'll try to update later today, and if I don't I'll definitely update tomorrow. For sure.**

 **Guys, in case you didn't already know, I have a tumblr account now! My profile name is FanWriter02, same as here. Lots of HTTYD stuff that I'll be reposting most likely, as well as my thoughts on future episodes of RTTE and clips from my FanFiction stories.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, so somebody commented on my last chapter about how I have too many cliffhangers on this story (which I agree with) and my explanation is this: I just stop abruptly. Life interferes, so I have to stop my writing and I figure "Hey, I'll just update this real quick so they have something to read." Yeah, so that's my explanation. Sorry if this story seems choppy with all those cliffhangers. :)**

 **Here is Chapter *looks down a long list* wow! Chapter 10! *gasp***

As soon as Toothless caught sight of the large man standing over the still form of Hiccup, he charged. Toothless only saw red as he tackled Munga to the ground, the man's weapon flying through the air before clattering to the ground. Toothless stood over him, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He was also debating on killing this man or not. He was obviously the one who had hurt Hiccup, since he'd been gripping tightly to Hiccup's arm and trying to drag him away.

This man deserved to die. No. He deserved something worse than death. This man had HURT HIS HICCUP. Nobody could just hurt Hiccup and get away with it. No. Not if Toothless had anything to say about it.

Toothless growled low and long, still trying to figure out what to do. Before he could decide though, a shout interrupted his thoughts.

"Toothless! Oh, thank Thor, Toothless…" Astrid gasped as she stumbled towards him. She didn't pause as she passed, only shouting, "Hold him there, Toothless!"

Astrid raced past, hardly giving Toothless and Munga a second glance. Her main focus was Hiccup.

She crashed to her knees beside him, ignoring the fact that shards of stone dug through her leggings and into her skin. That didn't matter. What was skinned knees compared to an arrow wound in the shoulder? Nothing.

"Hiccup. Hiccup, please, say something." Astrid begged as she rolled him over onto his side. "Come on…" she brushed dirt off his armor, her stomach turning violently at the sight of all the blood pouring from his shoulder. It was _everywhere_ … absolutely everywhere. There seemed to be no escaping it.

"Oh… Hiccup, you're going to be okay." Astrid rambled as she ripped off her arm guards, hurrying to press them tightly against Hiccup's wound. "Everything's fine. You'll be okay. We're going to get you to Berk and patched up- you'll be just fine…"

"Astrid!" Snotlout shouted behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, still keeping her hands pressed against the wound in hopes of stopping the blood flow.

"Snotlout! Tie up Munga!" she shouted before turning back to Hiccup. His skin was paling at an alarming rate, and Astrid knew that they had to get him back to Berk soon or it might be too late…

As it was, she didn't know all the wounds Hiccup was suffering from. All she could tell so far was that he had a arrow wound in his shoulder, another wound on his leg, and with how heavy and raspy his breathing was, she figured he'd cracked or broken a few ribs as well. Not to mention he was most likely dehydrated.

Fishleg's raced over, dropping to the ground beside her. "Oh, Thor, oh Thor, oh Thor." He kept rambling. "IS HE DEAD!?" he wailed.

Astrid shook her head, not in any mood to deal with Fishleg's dramatizing. "No, he's not. But I need water and bandages for his wound. He's losing too much blood."

Fishleg's scrambled over to Toothless, only to realize that the dragon wasn't wearing his saddle. He then scurried over to Meatlug and Stormfly, hastily grabbing the supplies Astrid needed.

Astrid grabbed the water and a wad of bandages first. She removed the cloths from the wound, pouring the water over it. The sight made her want to gag. The wound was bubbling- literally- a dark red almost purple liquid. Astrid figured that that wasn't good news.

As soon as she had it fairly clean, she hastily placed bandages over it, pressing down hard as he wrapped layers of bandages around his shoulder and chest. Every time she touched his chest, Hiccup would give a little gasp of pain, confirming her fears of him having rib damage.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry… so sorry." Astrid whispered as she continued to wrap the bandages. Once she finished, she bent down to pick him up, realizing that he was quite a bit heavier then she originally thought.

"Fishleg's…" she asked, and immediately Fishleg's leapt forward, helping her lift the unconscious Hiccup from the stone ground. Astrid climbed up onto Stormfly, leaning down to grab Hiccup. She pulled him into her lap, cradling his head against her shoulder gently.

The twins and Barf/Belch landed beside her, their looks of confusion and horror plain on their faces. "Oh, my troll stolen socks. What happened to him?" Tuffnut asked, clearly puzzled. "Did I miss something?"

"Hiccup's hurt. We need to get him back to Berk." Fishleg's informed them as he climbed up onto Meatlug.

"Wait! What about him?" Snotlout pointed at Munga, who now lay on the ground bound and gagged tightly. Toothless was still loathing over him, hissing every time the man moved.

Astrid's eyes narrowed in fury. "Snotlout, you're in charge of him. Tie him onto Hookfang's back- first make sure he doesn't have any other weapons on him."

Snotlout- with the help of Toothless- hastily hoisted Munga onto Hookfangs back. Snotlout then wrapped roped across Munga's chest and under Hookfang's stomach, tying him in place.

Astrid nudged Stormfly's sides, and they leapt into the air, clutching onto Hiccup tightly. He simply moaned, and that was all. She wished he would wake up. She wanted to see his green eyes and hear his voice… just _something_ to indicate that he was really and truly going to be okay.

Not that she knew that for sure at the moment. It was still questionable.

Toothless flew up alongside Stormfly, and he gave a little coo of worry. His eyes were fixed on Hiccup, and it didn't look like he'd be looking away anytime soon. The poor dragon didn't even know what had happened…

"What the- Astrid look!" Snotlout exclaimed, pointing straight ahead.

Astrid glanced up, her eyes growing wide in her joy. "Stoick! That's got to be Stoick- it's Berkian ships! And Outcasts!"

The ships were still pretty far away, but near enough for Astrid to tell who they belonged to. It was quite a large fleet with all of Alvin's ships combined with the dozen Berkian ones. There must be over twenty ships down there.

"Hurry, Stormfly." Astrid pleaded, wishing they could reach the ship's right now. Wishing that they could land, get Hiccup to a healer, and deal with that cruel, hateful, stupid Munga.

The minutes seemed to tick by like hours, each second seeming to drag by slowly. Astrid kept constantly placing her ear against Hiccup's chest, listening to his soft heartbeat. Either that, or place her hand over his mouth and nose to feel his breath- to make sure he hadn't stopped breathing.

"Stay with us, Hiccup. You'll be okay…" she kept repeating over and over again. At this point, she wasn't sure if she was comforting Hiccup or herself. Maybe both.

Stormfly dove towards the ships at an extremely fast speed. Astrid clung harder to Hiccup to keep him from falling as Stormfly picked up speed. Then, Stormfly's wings unfolded, and they pulled to a stop, Stormfly's claws gently touching the wooden deck of the first ship.

"Astrid!" Stoick's deep voice shouted, and he rushed forward. He stopped moving when his eyes caught sight of who was with her, and his mouth gaped open. "Hiccup." He whispered before bolting forward. "Somebody get a healer!" he shouted behind him.

Stoick grabbed Hiccup out of Astrid's arms, gently holding him in his arms. "What happened?" Stoick asked, looking up at the girl.

"We found him on the island and Munga had him training dragons- and we captured Munga. But then he got shot in the shoulder with an arrow-"

"A HEALER! NOW!" Stoick shouted louder this time. Men scattered, looking for signs of a healer and possibly Gothi if she'd traveled along.

Gobber limped forward, and his look mirrored Stoick's when he caught sight of Hiccup's limp body. "Odin's beard." He whispered. "What happened?"

"Explanation later." Stoick said, glancing at Astrid. "Right now, we need to get Hiccup into a bed and head home."

"But-"

Stiock started towards the back of the boat, but paused as he turned back to Gobber, "Tell Alvin to go on ahead and destroy Munga's base. Make sure his men are banished or… well just make sure everything is taken care of. Alvin will know what to do."

Gobber said nothing as he nodded, understanding fully Stoick's worry. Then he turned around walked away, shouting something across to another ship.

The others had landed on a couple of the other ships since there wasn't room for all of them on just one ship, except for Toothless, who was now hurrying to follow Stoick. Astrid left Stormfly behind as she followed them, her knees shaking in fear- something she didn't experience often.

Several healers rushed forward and began tending to Hiccup, while they told Astrid to stay away while they worked. Although Astrid did not want to, she listened, knowing she'd probably be best not seeing what they were doing anyways.

She walked back over to Stormfly and sat down beside the dragon, hoping and praying that Hiccup would be alright.

 **Yes, it's short, but I'm suffering from Writer's Block on this story… again. So tomorrow I'll hopefully have a better chapter for you guys.**

 **See ya! *gives cheesy salute before dashing off***


	11. Chapter 11

**GUYS! I'M EXPLODING IN EXCITEMENT FOR RTTE SEASON 4! THAT TRAILER HAS US HANGING IN SUSPENSE! I NEED SEASON 4 NOW!**

 **Gah, that trailer was too epic! It has me all hyped. Not to mention they say that there's going to be a Hiccstrid episode! I'm literally bursting at the seams in anticipation!**

 **This is going to be the last chapter, just because I'm suffering from major writers block and I just don't have a whole lot of feedback on this story so yeah! Here ya go. :D**

Hiccup blinked his eyes open, staring at the wooden ceiling in bewilderment. Was he home?

Hiccup carefully rolled over onto his side, aware of the dull ache in his shoulder and leg. It wasn't as bad as it had been before though, much to his relief.

Yes, he was back in Berk, in his bedroom. Hiccup glanced around, his heart constricting when he caught sight of Toothless's empty stone slab.

Hiccup fell back against his bed with a moan of both pain and grief. He'd momentarily forgotten that Toothless wasn't there, and his dream… he'd dreamt that Toothless had been right there beside his bed. It had seemed so real…

Hiccup felt his chest tighten and his eyes well with tears. Toothless was never coming back. He was gone.

"Hiccup!" came Stoick's voice. Hiccup lifted his head, scrubbing his face with his sleeves in an attempt to hide his tears. He didn't his father to see that.

"Son, you're awake!" Stoick came charging through the door and to the bed, plopping down in a chair beside Hiccup. "How do you feel?"

Hiccup wanted to answer, but he was afraid if he tried to talk he'd burst into tears again. Instead he buried himself lower into the covers, hoping his father took that as a sign that he was tired and wanted to sleep.

"Hiccup? What's wrong?" Stoick's large hand grabbed Hiccup's good arm gently, pulling him out from under the blanket. "Are you in pain?"

Hiccup let out a shuddering sigh and shook his head. "I-I'm fine D-dad." He said hoarsely. "T-tired."

Stoick smiled softly, then stood up. "Think you're up for some visitors before you go back to sleep? Astrid's been worried sick- I don't think the girl has eaten anything since we got back."

Hiccup nodded softly, guessing that he could. But it confused him slightly how… calm and happy Stoick was. He was so cheerful, as though there hadn't just been a death of Hiccup's best friend. It hurt Hiccup a bit to hear his father like that- as though he didn't even _care._

Stoick patted Hiccup's arm before standing up and disappearing out the door. There were the sounds of excited voices below, before the stairs began to rattle, shaking Hiccup's entire room. Hiccup's eyes widened as he pushed himself into a sitting position, ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder and ribs.

Then, the black dragon appeared in the doorway, and Hiccup began to think he was still unconscious- maybe delirious or something. Toothless… he couldn't be here! Could he?

Toothless barreled across the room, jumping up onto the bed and licking Hiccup repeatedly. Hiccup stared at him in utter shock, his mouth gaping open in disbelief.

"T-Toothless..?" He whispered. Toothless pulled back and grinned gummily at Hiccup, cooing happily in response.

Hiccup then snapped out of his daze, letting out a joyful, "TOOTHLESS!" then he hugged the dragon tightly, swearing that he'd never ever let go. Toothless seemed a bit surprised at first, but then he rested his head against Hiccup's shoulder, returning the hug.

"Toothless… your alive, bud." Hiccup whispered. "Th-they told me you were dead…"

Toothless pulled back, still smiling happily with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. He jumped to his feet and skipped about the room joyfully.

Hiccup smiled as he watched the dragon's antics, barely believing that this was actually happening. Toothless was alive and in good health! What had happened?

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted from the doorway. She raced across the room- much as Toothless had done- then skidded to a stop beside his bed, giving a slight hesitation before hugging him around the neck.

Hiccup lifted his good arm and hugged her back, and not much later she pulled back, smiling and laughing quietly.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked, still in awe and excitement that Toothless was okay. The said dragon had calmed down, and was now sitting beside the bed opposite of Astrid.

Astrid sat down in the chair that Stoick had been sitting in a few moments before. She leaned forward and took a deep breath.

"Well, after you passed out, Munga went over and tried to drag you away. But Snotlout and the twins along with the Changewing attacked and helped free us. All of us easily beat Munga's men, and then Toothless came, and attacked Munga. He got him pinned so that Snotlout could tie him up." Astrid looked over at Toothless, smiling softly, "Then we got you onto Stormfly and flew towards home as fast as we could. We met the Berkian fleet on the way, so stopped there first so a healer could treat your wounds."

Hiccup nodded, glancing down at himself before looking back at Astrid.

"After they'd taken care of you, Stormfly and I flew you back to Berk so Gothi could look you over and make sure everything had been done properly. Your Dad got back not long after, because he'd stayed behind to help take care of Munga-"

"What happened to him?" Hiccup asked quietly.

Astrid frowned, obviously angry at the man. "They banished him on a small island out in the middle of nowhere." Her face hardened as she said hatefully, "I wish they'd just killed him. Make sure he never comes back."

Hiccup stayed silent, not certain what to say. Finally, he reached out and grabbed her hand, smiling happily. "Hey, it's okay now. I'm home and Toothless is here and…" Hiccup let go of her arm to hug Toothless tightly again.

"They told me he was dead." Hiccup murmured, almost too quietly for Astrid to hear.

"What!?" Astrid exploded. She leapt to her feet. "They- they just left Toothless out in the water?"

Hiccup nodded. "They said he was already dead when they pulled him in…"

"Those… those scoundrels!" Astrid shouted. "That's it! I'm going to that island to kill Munga myself! I swear-"

"Astrid! It's fine. He's fine, I'm fine, you're fine, everything's fine." Hiccup said hurriedly before she marched out. "You-you are okay aren't' you?" He asked hesitantly.

Astrid's expression softened and she nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. A few bruises, nothing worth bothering about."

"Thank Thor." Hiccup sighed. "I'm sorry… I should've been paying closer attention. I-I didn't see the ship and when I did it was too late-"

Toothless nudged Hiccup's arm, giving the boy a reassuring look. Hiccup rubbed his hand against the dragon's head, beyond thankful that Toothless was okay.

"I'm sorry." Hiccup whispered finally. Tootless cooed, nudging Hiccup again.

"It's "fine" Hiccup." Astrid smiled. "It wasn't your fault."

Hiccup said nothing, just sighing in exhaustion.

Astrid stood up, then pushed Hiccup against the bed. "Now go to sleep and rest up. You'll be back on your feet in no time, k?"

Hiccup blinked, not even bothering to struggle against Astrid's hold. "Mmkay." He mumbled, turning over onto his side before pulling the blanket up to his nose.

Astrid ruffled his hair, then stepped away and out the door.

Toothless sat down, resting his head on the bed frame, just watching Hiccup's steady breathing. From now on, he wouldn't let anyone touch his little human again.

 **Ugh it's so short!**

 **But I just wanted to finish this story and get it done so I could start on some others when I come back from my Hiatus. (Which I'll be going on next week because of RTTE season 4!)**

 **So, just in case you're wondering what happened to Thornado and the Changewing, Thornado went back off into the wild after being released, and the Changewing came back to Berk and stayed in the forest.  
Okay, so I'll see you in the next one, thanks for sticking with me, and as always…**

 **Tootles! XD**

 **-FanWriter02**


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